Laws of Motion Book Four
by Ms-Maggs
Summary: All Cast...it's the gang against a mastermind. Dramaromancehumorcasefile. Updated at least weekly. Ships: GS, NOC, GrOC, VartannOC, CW and Lindsay, BrLH and Ellie,SofOC. 4th in the Laws of Motion Series. More details in my profile. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Prologue**

**Friday – November 25, 2005 **

**Boulder City Hospital **

**3:11 am **

"Dr. Ortiz!" Nick flagged down the doctor he'd met when Grissom and Catherine were brought to the ER after the Harper House cave-in. "Hey."

"Nick Stokes, right?"

"Yeah."

The doctor shook hands with the CSI. "Hey, how's Sara's pregnancy going?" he asked, recalling how he had processed her pregnancy test on the sly.

"Great, she's almost halfway I think."

"Fantastic. What brings you here?"

"One of my team members is here with a head trauma." Stuffing his hands on his hips, Nick shared, "I know head traumas can be serious if there's swelling issues and bleeding. She's really startin' to worry and I can't get anyone to tell me what's goin' on because this place is swamped and understaffed because of the holiday."

Leaning in, the doctor quietly asked, "Is she a little more than a co-worker?"

"At one time she was, yeah." Chuckling with the fellow ladies man, Nick said, "She's in Number Seventeen. Could you check her chart and let her know?"

"She's a looker, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Hair color?"

"Blonde."

"Walk with me…but not with me." Manny strolled into the nurses' station and grabbed a chart. "What's going on with the blonde in seventeen?"

"I knew you'd be curious about her," Susan, the head nurse who loved the charismatic doctor like the son she never had, laughed. "She presented with nausea, blurred vision and dizziness. CT results are fine. She lost about thirty minutes of memory. Dr. Parsons just diagnosed a Grade II concussion." Susan smiled at her favorite doctor. "She's pretty, Manny. Want me to find out if she's single?"

"Of course," the doctor laughed as he returned the chart. "Thanks, Susan," When he left the station, he gave a thumbs up. "Did you hear?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about the memory loss, it's just the mind's way of sparing us the drama." Holding up his pager, Manny waved. "You'll have to tell her yourself. Duty calls. Give Gil and Sara my best."

"Hey, Stokes!" Cavaliere approached the CSI with Fromansky and Juarez at his side.

"Yeah?" When Nick turned, he saw the detective and his irritation reactivated.

"How's Curtis doing?" Cavaliere asked, while filling a Styrofoam cup at the water dispenser.

"Fine, no thanks to you."

"Excuse me?" The detective bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Stepping closer, Nick gruffly shared exactly what was on his mind. "It means that I don't enjoy hearing 'Grab him, Stokes' comin' out of your mouth when I show up to process a suspect's house.** I** grab the evidence**, you** grab the bad guy, remember? How the hell does a nineteen year who has been drinkin' all day get by a seasoned detective, anyway? Huh?"

"Them's fightin' words," Officer Juarez muttered into her coffee. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the two butt heads.

"You got a problem with my job performance again, Stokes?" Cavaliere tossed his empty cup in the trash and crossed his arms.

"Let's just say that I'm sick and tired of my team members gettin' injured because you and some of your buddies are sleepwalkin' to their twenty. Greg almost dyin' in that basement…that was your scene, man and…"

"What about Sara in the desert, huh? That was your pal Vartann's scene," Cavaliere snipped.

"There's a world of difference between securin' the whole damn desert and not being able to keep track of one drunk nineteen year old in a confined space!"

"I just think there's something about me that a good 'ol boy like you doesn't like."

Nick burst into a crazy laugh. "You think I don't like you because you're Hispanic? Is that what you're not so subtly suggestin'?" After a few more seconds of riotous laughter, he calmed and his expression morphed into an icy glare. "No, that's not why I don't like you. I don't like you because you're an asshole who is too lazy to do his job right. Be it securin' a scene, keepin' a suspect at bay, or checkin' out a lead to build a stronger case for the DA…all you want to do is clock in, spend as much time as possible leanin' against your car lookin' important, and then go home."

"I don't go home." Cavaliere whispered just for Nick to hear, "While you're running around the city playing holier than thou CSI, I'm bangin' your fiancée at the Deuce Motel."

Fromansky had his camera phone ready for when Stokes hauled off.

"We both know that's not true," Nick replied, his body tense enough to snap in two. "And we both know I'm absolutely right about you."

When Nick turned to walk away, Fromansky yelled, "Hey, Stokes! Have you thanked Mike for saving your life yet?! No, you haven't. I guess you only want to piss and moan when things go wrong, but not acknowledge a cop who goes the extra mile to save your ass. Kinda hypocritical, doncha think? You must have picked that up from Grissom."

Not taking the bait, Nick kept walking and when he reached Sofia's cubicle, he ducked behind the curtain and released the breath he had been holding.

"How bad is it?" Sofia panicked when she saw Nick's angst. "Is it a brain bleed? Do I need surgery?"

"Huh?"

"You look…"

"Oh! No, sorry." Nick broke into a smile. "You're gonna be fine, don't worry. I'm just pissed as hell at Cavaliere for not subduing the suspect in the first place." Moving to the bed's edge, he whispered, "Off the record, I found out that your CT didn't show anything bad. You have a Grade II concussion, that's what's causin' the little bit of memory loss." A loss he was thankful for considering it included a declaration of love. "Sorry for scarin' ya."

"Ms. Curtis…" Dr. Parsons, Boulder City's newest and youngest ER physician, rushed in with her head in a chart. "Sorry for the delay in getting back to you." She brushed her unkempt red hair off her face. "This place is a madhouse. Lots of Turkey Day food poisoning and domestic dispute injuries. Uh…your CT scan didn't show anything remarkable about your brain."

"Hey now." Nick chuckled at the attractive doctor's wording. "As someone who works with her at the Crime Lab, I'd disagree. Her brain is actually quite remarkable."

Sofia couldn't believe Nick was flirting with the physician. _It's such a trained reaction, he doesn't even realize he is_.

"Sorry," the doctor returned the sexy man's laugh. "It's been a long day. I should have phrased that better."

_Ugh, she did a hair flip!_ Sofia rolled her eyes. "Excuse me…over here. We were discussing my medical status, remember?"

"Right! The bottom line is…you don't have any brain damage, Ms. Curtis. We can release you, but you'll need someone to drive you and you can't be alone for the next twenty-four hours, because there is a chance that you may experience a sudden change in consciousness. Any drastic change in headache pain, vision or disorientation is cause for concern and we'll want you to return, okay? Do you have someone to drive you and supervise you?"

"Nick can drive me, but is the supervising part** really **necessary, because my boyfriend isn't home."

"Definitely," the doctor confirmed. "If you don't have anywhere to go, I can hold you for observation, but I'll have to admit you because the ER is jammed."

Sofia protested, "No way, I hate hospitals."

"Sorry." Nick shook his head. "As your supervisor, I need to remind you that this is a work-related injury and you need to follow doctor's orders. You're either stayin' here, finding someone to watch you, or I'll bring you home with me."

The idea of spending time with the Happiest Couple on Earth making her headache significantly worse, Sofia droned, "This is my punishment for not going with Irving to Florida to meet his mother."

Dr. Parsons' eyes sparkled as she smiled at the hunky CSI. "I don't know why she's complaining, I'd be happy to leave here with you on my arm. My shift ends at six by the way."

Nick flustered from the unexpected flirtation. "Uh…"

_Oh my God, look at him…he's wondering where she got the idea he was interested! Hello?! You flirted first! Men! Ugh! He's so freaking irritating…in a really irresistible way. _"He's engaged," Sofia reminded herself while informing the brazen woman.

"Excellent." Dr. Parsons extended her business card. "Then I still have a chance."

"No you don't," Sofia intercepted the card and returned it to the brazen woman. "His fiancée's not going anywhere."

"Best of luck, Ms. Curtis." The doctor walked away chuckling. "I hope your recovery goes well too."

Ignoring the awkward moment, Nick retrieved his cell phone. "I'm uh…gonna step outside and let Carrie know we'll be home soon."

**Chapter 1**

**Tuesday, December 6, 2005 The New Vartann House...which, even though it was the smallest (5,000 sf) and least expensive ($1,240,000) home Becca had ever owned, she loved more than anything (especially more than the five million dollar hell hole she had been subjected to live in with her evil mother as a child), because this modest suburban hamlet was filled with love (and really nice furnishings) and it had the perfect backyard for Baby Bella to have totally cool birthday parties with ponies, and a petting zoo and roaming balloon twisters (not that she was planning that far ahead because Tony said it could jinx the pregnancy). **

**6:03 am **

Dropping their gym bags, Mr. and Mrs. Vartann raced up the stairs to the master bedroom, shedding their workout clothes along the way.

"The only bad thing about the new house is that it's ten minutes further from the station!" Tony declared as he dove for the bed they had rolled out of at four forty-five that morning. "That's ten less minutes to fool around in the morning."

"It's quality, not quantity that matters." Becca snickered into her husband's chest when he kicked off the loving. "Then again…there's something to be said for quantity. Is it my imagination, or is it larger after working out?"

He laughed his answer into ear, "Do you think I'd actually say 'no' to that question?"

"I think it's very generous of you to keep making love to me even after I'm pregnant and your work is done. It must be quite tedious."

"Yeah." Tony rolled their bodies until Becca was perched on top. "I can't help it though, I'm nice to a fault." He started laughing, "And you look so sad when you're begging me and undressing me with your eyes."

"Is this what you want?" Becca raised her hands to her hair.

"You know I do." When she released the complicated updo with soft-core flair, he declared, "At three months, we're technically still newlyweds, but I know in my heart of hearts that I will **never **get tired of you doing that for me. As a matter of fact, this is exactly how I want to die when I'm a hundred and five…right here, from a coronary, underneath my naked ninety-five year old sexy wife who just let her hair down for me."

"Aww, that's really beyond sweet, Honey…except for the very clear visual of your naked one hundred and five year old body in my mind's eye."

"Just out of curiosity, was I at half-mast or…"

"Ha!" She smothered his mouth with a kiss, then answered, "You were still gettin' it on, don't worry."

One lusty kiss later, Tony lovingly whispered, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to move into the no talking phase now, because all of a sudden, I'm finding it a little hard to focus on the conversation."

"Okay." In her sultriest voice, Becca brushed her next words over her husband's mouth, "But I bet I can make you say my name."

His lips perked into a naughty smirk. "It won't work." Settling in for her to ravage him, Tony moaned, "But it will be fun to watch you try."

"Wanna place a bet?"

"Mmmhmm."

As she gyrated her hips, she suggested, "If you say my name, you have to wear a **pink** tie with your suit in the BPAC charity fashion show."

"Oh, you're on." He buttoned his lips, knowing there was a sexual move she could pull that would get him to speak now.

"Okay, Baby." She worked his body by working hers, dropping just the right sounds and words to heat him thoroughly. "Are you close?"

He clamped his lips tighter.

"Mmm…oh…I can't…oh! OH! Here I go!" Becca taunted before disengaging their bodies and jumping off the bed. "See ya!"

"Becks!" Tony bolted up. "What the hell are you…."

"You said my name!" She skipped off to the shower.

He had been so caught up in the moment he had forgotten why that was important. "OH! Dammit!"

"HA!" Becca started the shower.

Crashing onto the mattress, he cursed into a pillow.

"Are you going to finish yourself off out of pride, walk funny all day, or are you going to join me in the shower to be a defeated, but sexually satisfied man?" While she knew he was thinking about the lesser of three evils, she made a Betty Boop squeal. "If only I had a big strong man to soap my slick, hot body for me. Oops! I dropped the soap."

A minute later…

"Hey, Becca…I just remembered that Sister Mary Margaret, my first grade teacher at St. Anne's, said that pride was a vice and handling our parts was a sin!" Opening the shower door, he announced, "I don't want to have to go to confession, so I'm gonna take care of things in a sanctified manner by having my way with my wife in the shower."

"Aww." Becca turned off the water. "Too late." She stepped past him giggling. "And don't even think of touching me when I'm clean and you're not."

"Uh…I…I'll wear a pink shirt too," he whimpered.

"Okay, it's no longer fun picking on you now that you've entered the realm of pathetic." She returned to the shower and flipped on the hot water. "Come and get it!"

**The Grissoms **

**6:12 am **

"Here you go, Flash." Sara crouched down to place the dog's food dish on the floor. "My stomach is starting to get in the way."

"The day is finally here!" Gil announced as he breezed into the room dressed and ready to go. "The suspense is killing me."

"Imagine if you had to wait the full nine months."

"Thank God for science." Their 3-D ultrasound was that afternoon. "I can't wait to see my daughter."

"I can't wait to see my son." Sara took a seat at the counter to eat her breakfast.

Opening the fridge, Gil excitedly told Flash, "I'm looking forward to showing off Erin's first portrait."

"Owen's picture is going to look great on my desk," Sara informed the dog. "I can't wait to get started on his bug-themed nursery once we get confirmation."

"That butterfly nursery is going to look fantastic when we finish it."

Once his dish was empty, Flash moseyed to the doggie door, making it clear that he wouldn't be choosing sides.

Taking a seat next to his wife, Gil conceded, "As long as our baby is healthy, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl."

"I want a healthy boy," Sara replied with a smile after her last bite of muffin. "Because if we have a girl, knowing my luck, she won't be a Tom Boy, she'll be a girly girl and want to play dress up and do her nails and hair. That's the girl baby Carrie needs. It would be cruel for Carrie to have a Tom Boy girl who hated stupid shoes." When she saw her husband's smug expression, she said, "Oh cut the crap! You're crossing your fingers the kid loves bugs, admit it!"

"Look at the time," he chuckled before pecking his wife's cheek. "See ya at the lab."

"Becca has her daughter's first seven birthday parties planned and they haven't even seen the heartbeat yet!" Sara shouted as her husband strolled away feeling superior. "On the pathetic scale, I'm halfway at most!"

Once Gil was in the garage, Sara glanced down at her protruding belly. "I'll love you no matter what, but please…don't be a girly girl."

**Nick and Carrie's **

**6:19 am **

Snapping her pink lace bra, Carrie called to her fiancée, "Nicky! The bathroom sink is clogged again, can you fix it for me before you leave?! I just had my nails filled yesterday and don't want to take a chance."

"Are you cleanin' the hair out everyday like I told you?"

"Yes," she emphatically answered while innocently posing before him in her matching lace undergarments.

"Carr, come on." He dangled the sink stopper in front of her face and pointed to all the tangled hair. "You're lyin'!"

"Okay, okay, I forgot to do it yesterday." Then she saw him snake out a rat's nest of hair. "And the day before that."

"You're a smart woman." He washed his hands once he got the sink to drain. "Why can't you understand that when you blow dry your hair that it all flies through the air, lands in the sink and if you turn on the water, it all goes down the drain." Suddenly he recalled hearing his father saying the same words to his sister Barbara when they were teens and cringed. _I will not become him!_ "Sorry, Sweetheart, it's just…"

"No, I'm sorry." Stepping close enough for their bodies to touch, she brought her lips to her man's ear. "I'll remember," she made sure her hot breath landed on his neck.

"I'll believe it when I see it," he gulped.

"Okay." Grabbing a tissue, she demonstrated how she would clean the hair…while taunting him with her semi-naked body. "See, I know how." Giggling, she bent over to toss the tissue, making sure her lace-covered behind nudged him in the right place. "I was just being lazy. I'm feeling pretty energetic now though."

"This is cute, really it is." He cleared his throat. "But I'm serious; you could cause a huge plumbing problem."

"All work and no play has made Nicky a very grumpy boy." Leaving his side, she walked into her closet to find the right shoes. "All joking aside, I promise to remember."

"Good, because…" When he saw her in her red serpent shoes, he froze. "You're not wearing those to the office today, are you?"

"Why?" Stepping into her red suit skirt she gave him a puzzled look.

"Because those are my favorite bedroom shoes. I bought those for you. I don't want old Stevie boy seeing you in my favorite bedroom shoes."

"Nicky…"

"They're special…and sexy. Are you trying to compete with Tina Marchello now? It's…" He stopped himself from sharing that Cavaliere and a couple of cops were constantly making salacious remarks about her. "I thought they were just for us to enjoy together."

"I'm having my picture taken for Vegas Magazine. They're profiling the DA's office, remember? They've asked the women to wear red and the men have to wear dark suits with red ties, because they're calling it 'An Office with Heart'." Placing her hands on his shoulders, Carrie explained, "I'm wearing the shoes because they are special, and they make me feel good when I wear them. Consequently, I thought I'd take a really confident picture, but now that I think about it..." She slipped out of them. "They're too special to wear outside and get dirty."

"I'm sorry I'm so crabby." Nick slipped his arms around her waist. "I love you, Carr, and I miss you." Resting his forehead on hers, he whispered, "With our schedules, we've been like ships passin' in the night since Thanksgiving. It doesn't seem that way when it's happening, but then one day, like this mornin', I wake up and realize we haven't made love in a week and I've talked to Greg more than you. I hate that. We need to do better at balancin' our work and personal lives, because how are we gonna fit in a baby if we're not takin' time for each other? Seriously, how are we going to make that work?"

"You're right, you're absolutely right." She hugged him tight. "We have Friday through Sunday blocked for my birthday. We'll come up with a strategy then."

"We're schedulin' time to make a schedule, that's so…"

"Us."

"You look beautiful, Sweetheart." He initiated a lingering kiss. "I'm sure your picture will be too."

"One more."

"If I kiss you again I won't be able to leave."

Nodding, she reluctantly released her grip. "Call me later."

"You know it." He slapped his thigh. "Binda! Walk Daddy to the door!"

The dog jumped off the bed and raced to the door.

"Nicky…" Carrie called when he was about to disappear.

"Yeah?"

With glassy eyes she softly said, "I love you, too."

"Hold that thought." Nick flipped open his cell and punched in Sara's code. "Hey there, Big Mama. My car battery's dead and I'm gonna be late. Can you tell the troops the rally's off and carry on without me? I'll be there as soon as I can, thanks." He promptly closed the phone and locked Binda out of the room. "You were saying?"

"I love you!"

"I want you to know that I've never done that for **any** woman."

"You just violated your strict work ethics for me, Stokes." Giggling, she stepped into the serpent shoes. "I can't believe I'm such a temptress!"

They met in the center of the bed.

"What about your hair?" Nick asked when their first kiss broke. "The picture."

"I can wear it up," she breathlessly replied as the last button of his jeans gave way. "Condom."

"I'm on it."

"I have to leave in thirty minutes, so…" She tossed her bra. "Padding in time to freshen up…I have twenty minutes." When she saw him ready and raring to go, she warned, "I want all twenty, Stokes, so pace yourself."

"Yes, ma'am." He knew he was in trouble when the mere touch of her hand had him gasping for air.

"Nicky," she urged when he hesitated.

After a steadying breath he answered the plea she was making with her eyes. "Carr…hell, I swear it's the damn shoes," he laughed into her hair. "I need a minute of distraction."

"Give me a birthday hint."

"No."

"Is it bigger than a bread box?"

"I'm not tellin'."

"Does it have wheels?"

Their noses bumping in an Eskimo kiss, he sweetly chuckled, "I didn't buy another motorhome if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm not worried." She stroked his cheek, enjoying the smoothness of his morning shave. "Whatever it is, I know you put a ton of thought into it and for that reason alone I already love it."

"Thank you, Sweetheart." Locked away in their bedroom with his body linked to the woman he'd love forever, Nick serenely whispered, "Isn't life perfect when it stands still?"

**The Blakes **

**6:28 am **

"Can someone answer the darn phone already?!" Wendy shrieked as she balanced Ashley on her hip and made an organic peanut butter and banana sandwich for McKenna's lunch. She was exhausted from making Christmas Pageant costumes for the church until three and then only catching an hour of sleep before Ashley had a nightmare and woke at four. She couldn't wait until everyone left so she could put Ashley down for an early nap and take one herself. "Seriously! Am I the only person who hears the phone?!"

"I hear it, Mommy," McKenna said as she skipped into the kitchen. "But you don't let me answer the phone 'cause it may be a bad guy who wants to steal me or worse." Her mother never answered when she'd ask what 'or worse' meant, but she figured it meant dead.

"Sorry, Honey!" Paul rushed in with the cordless phone in hand. "I was in the john and by the time I picked it up they were gone." Walking to the counter, he checked the caller ID box. "It was my dad. I'll call him on the way to the office."

"No, he's returning my call," Wendy droned. "I left a message last night asking if he could take Ashley for a few hours this afternoon."

Paul hit the speed dial button for his father and walked out of the room. "Hey, Dad."

"Mom!" Ryan raced into the kitchen. "I need a lunch money check, because I'm down to a dollar in my account."

"I put thirty dollars in your brother's when I registered him. Have Sean buy you lunch today, because your father doesn't get paid until Friday and I emptied the checking account paying bills yesterday."

"Yo, ho, Captain Sean!" Ryan greeted his eye patched brother as a pirate, "Arrragh! Will you be up for sharin' your lunch bounty with me today, because Sir Paul and Lady Wendy are out of doubloons until Friday?"

"I'm so sick of the pirate jokes." Sean dropped into a kitchen chair. "It's hard enough starting at a new school, but to start with a patched eye."

Wendy sympathized, but stayed the course. "Honey, we waited an extra week, but you've finished all your homeschool lessons and you need to go or I'll be hauled off to jail."

"Let's think about this, Bro." Ryan tapped his fingers on the table. "If she's in jail, I can bring home meat."

Paul hurried into the kitchen, "Dad will be here at noon for Ashley." He kissed Wendy's cheek. "He and Jori Demcak are going to take her to the park. I still can't believe my father may actually have a girlfriend…or that his maybe girlfriend is the future grandmother of Nick and Carrie's surrogate baby. Our life gets a little more soap opera every day, doesn't it? Except I actually have to work, we don't have unlimited cash, and there isn't a love scene every hour"

"And I don't have a mansion, a maid, or a studly personal trainer named Rock at my beck and call." Wendy rolled her eyes. "I think our life is like Little House on the Prairie…a lot of family love and home baked goods, as well as freak accidents, bad luck, and no money to spend at the store."

"Yeah," Paul winked, "but we have penicillin and Tylenol, so at least we don't have to sweat out our illnesses quarantined in the church/school."

Loving her husband for remembering the show they used to watch with geriatric patients at the hospital when they were dating, she pointed to the door. "Time to go to work, Pa! We don't want the kids to only get tin cups and pennies again this Christmas."

"At least we know their rich Aunt Carrie from the big city will get them something nice. Now that I think about it, my sister is a lot like Eliza Jane, the prissy school teacher with the fancy shoes and hats. I guess that makes me her brother Manly." Laughing hard, Paul made a dash for the door. "I'll see everyone at supper. If you're good today, kids, I'll play my fiddle for you tonight! Bye!"

Ryan gaped at his hysterical mother. "Just when I thought you two couldn't get any stranger."

**The Sanders Home **

**6:37 am **

"Greg..." Tawny averted her eyes as her husband moved into the Downward-Facing Dog position in front of her. "I don't think naked yoga is a good idea. It's like bad naked."

"My parents used to do it all the time."

"Yeah, and your mom is in a group home for the mentally unbalanced. What does that tell you?"

Glancing up, he saw the clock. "Shoot! Look at the time." He rushed for his clothes. "If I'm late, Nick will become mentally unbalanced."

"Why are you limping?" Grabbing her robe, Tawny laughed, "Did Tony put you through the ringer at the gym again?"

"No," Greg droned while tugging on his sweater. "I finally got asked to participate in their reindeer games and I'm paying for it."

"Reindeer games?"

"Like in the Rudolph movie…you know how the cool reindeer never let Rudolph play any reindeer games because he was a nasally-challenged geek. Those guys never include me, but today they did."

"Oh!" She laughed. "Duh. I thought it was some kind of Christmas sports competition, like the Reindeer Run race."

Greg zipped his pants and hurried to find socks. "They let me play basketball with them this morning."

"I didn't know you played basketball."

"I don't!" He sat on the edge of the bed next to her to pull his socks on. "I totally suck. I got knocked over three times. Even Vartann caved in and started laughing his ass off at me, but he had the decency to turn his back."

"Aww." Tawny stroked his hair. "Just remember, when Rudolph saved the day everyone loved him and felt bad for ever thinking he was a loser."

"Thanks, Clarice," he replied, calling her by the name of Rudolph's girlfriend.

In her best high-pitched reindeer voice, she spontaneously belted out Clarice's love song, "There's always tomorrow, for dreams to come true. Believe in your dreams…"

"I adore you for knowing the words to that song." He beamed with admiration. "God, we're a perfect match."

"Because we're both very strange people with odd senses of humor."

"The correct term is **misfits**, but I know an island where we'd fit right in. I'd take you there, but you're pregnant, and it's a pretty tough trek…and I don't own an ice axe." He bumped noses with her just like the cartoon deer. "Okay, I have to go or I'll miss Santa's morning rally and he'll assign me to pick up reindeer droppings all day."

When he was at the door, Tawny said, "Hey, Rudolph…" She batted her eyes. "I think you're cute."

"She thinks I'm cute!" Mimicking the scene, he leapt out the door. "She thinks I'm cuuuuuuuuute!"

When she heard a crash, Tawny ran into the hallway. "What happened?" She worried when she saw he was holding his face.

"I tripped over the laundry basket and slammed into the wall."

When Greg moved his hand, Tawny laughed so hard, that she had to hold onto the wall for balance. "The tip of your nose…it's all red. You smeared blood all over it." She gasped for air. "Where's the camera?"

**Crime Lab – Grissom's Office**

**6:49 am **

"Check out my new picture, Warrick." Gil handed over the photo he had just framed. "We're having our twenty week ultrasound today. I can't believe it."

Staring at the man who at one time only had a personal relationship with racing cockroaches, Warrick said, "Hey, I still can't believe you're married. No offense."

"None taken." Smiling, Gil took a seat. "I was a textbook social misfit for years. Decades actually. Well, who are we kidding, I still am, but I'm a good husband, and I'm going to be a good father."

"I want whatever you had for breakfast," Warrick laughed. "Have a good day. My wife is waitin' in bed for me, so I'm hittin' the road."

**Morning Glory Lane **

**6:52 am **

"Hey neighbor!" Tony pulled over to the side of the road.

"Mornin'! Still lovin' the new house?" Drew asked as he walked to the curb with the newspaper in hand.

"Yeah, we're going to be very happy there."

"I told ya, and it was a steal for the price." He had found it while strolling Claire around the neighborhood.

"Yeah, now I owe you for finding me a great wife and a great house. Actually that's why I pulled over, to extend a thank you invitation. We'd love to have you over. I know this weekend isn't good, but we're open next weekend if you are."

"Yeah, we're free. I'll see if I can get a babysitter."

"No, bring the kids. Becca's in mommy overdrive, so she'll love it. We have a nice playset in the backyard and plenty of grass. Does a Saturday lunch BBQ work better for the kids than dinner? Around noon?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Marta's still a little down from not hearing from her parents like I mentioned to you the other day. How about lettin' her bring dessert? She loves makin' these triple fudge brownies."

"I know Becca will love them, she's craving chocolate daily now." Tony saw a segue and asked a burning question, "Speaking of Becca, I wanted to say thanks for letting her run with this Charity Fashion show idea. It means a lot to her to have you trust her with a big project like that and I'll tell you…she's throwing her heart and soul into it. If you could tread carefully with her on…"

"Hell, I'm not doin' her a favor, it was a great idea and she's doin' a phenomenal job. We're gettin' incredible buzz. I think we'll be makin' some serious cash."

"Really? Wow, that's great." Tony breathed a little easier. "I wasn't sure if you were just humoring her."

"Not at all." Drew shook his head. "She's incredibly smart and very creative."

"I agree," Tony laughed. "She outsmarted me again this morning as a matter of fact."

"I hear that's how she got you to stomp the runway too, right?"

"Yeah, and now she has me wearin' a friggin' pink tie." He tapped his watch. "Alright, I gotta run."

"Have a good one!" Drew nodded, then hurried for the front door. Anxious to tell Marta about the invite, he hustled to get to the kitchen. "Hey, Honey." Drew tossed the newspaper on the counter before circling his arms around Marta's waist. "Tony Vartann was drivin' down the street just now and we got to talkin'. He's invited us and the kids over for a BBQ lunch, a week from Saturday. I told him I thought it would be okay. Is it okay?"

"Uhhhh, sure." She really didn't feel like socializing, but knew she had to stop moping around the house. "Becca is always real nice to me when Claire and I bring you lunch at BPAC."

"She thinks you're great, a big switch from the bitchy snots she's used dealin' with in California."

"Good, because I need all the friends I can get, now that I don't have a family."

"Your family still loves you, Marta." Drew hugged her tight. "They're just don't approve of how you've chosen to live. Your father is doin' the 'love the sinner, not the sin' thing. Kind of like my dad with Katie."

"But your dad still talks to Katie even though he thinks homosexuality is a sin. I'm being shunned for living with you."

Drew smiled, hoping to lighten up the tone. "If your father had my mother on his case, he'd be talkin' to you. But in your parents' marriage, it seems to me that your daddy holds most of the power."

"True," she sighed.

"For your information, I think things should be fifty-fifty." He winked. "I thought I'd let you know that in case you need to factor it into a decision one day in the future."

"Are you still sad today, Nanny Marta?" Cassie asked upon entering the kitchen.

"I'm afraid so, Sweetie." Squeezing Drew's hand, Marta said, "But I'm getting a little less sad every day."

Hugging her father, Cassie said, "Nanny Marta's sad 'cause she can't see her mommy, but I'll be sad if I hafta see my mommy and that scary man."

"Don't worry, Sugar." Drew scooped up his daughter. "I hired the best family law lawyer that money can buy."

**Mike and Lissa's**

**7:08 am **

"I need another five grand," Lissa announced as Mike was leaving for work.

"For what?" he snapped at the shopping addict who was apparently trying to beat a spending world record.

"Linens."

"Five grand for sheets?"

"Not just sheets," she grumbled. "Comforters, towels, tablecloths, napkins, the works. I tried to make do with Marlene's stuff, but it's hideous."

"I'll tell you what," Grabbing his wallet, Mike fished out two hundred dollars, "use that to buy some new lingerie and supplies. After you're done spoiling me tonight, Dearest Wife, we'll talk about linens."

Snatching the money, Lissa sighed. "I feel used."

"Join the club, Sweetheart." He threw open the door. "I'm goin' to work."

**Crime Lab **

**7:23 am **

"I'm here!" Nick announced when he found every member of his staff in the breakroom.

"We're having the rally in here without you." Sara showed him the Krispy Kreme donut hole in her hand, "I even brought evil carbs in honor of your absence."

"Nice." Much to everyone's surprise, Nick fished two holes from the box and popped them in his mouth.

"He's late and eating evil carbs in the same day?!" Greg exclaimed. "What's he gonna do next? Show us he's wearing women's underwear?"

"I certainly hope not." Brass patted his belly as he strolled to the coffee station. "I had a big breakfast and I'd prefer not to lose it."

"Grey Boxer Briefs, people." Nick lifted his shirt and tugged up the waistband. "Sorry to disappoint you, Greggo. Now tell me what happened to your nose and why you're limpin'?"

"The wife was smackin' him around again," Sofia joked. Then she remembered Sara's history and cleared her throat. "Not funny, sorry."

Sara inched a smile. "It's okay."

"If you must know, I shot some hoops with my studly cop friends this morning."

Brass formed a visual while stirring his coffee. "I would have paid good money to see that."

"Me too," Sara cracked up, recalling Greg's pathetic finish at the LE marathon.

"I got knocked over three times," Greg shared in between sips of Kona Diamond. "But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when Mrs. Vartann came running onto the court shrieking 'Stop picking on him! He's a lot smaller than you guys!' and handed me her hot pink gym towel and a bottle of Evian."

Nick rushed for the water cooler choking on his fourth donut hole.

"Why do you keep going there?" Jas quizzed, knowing all too well what it was like to be the last one picked in gym class.

"Yeah, Sanders," Sofia raised her coffee mug "no respectable geek would be caught alive in a place like City Gym."

"I liked how you didn't say dead," Brass commented while tapping his mug to Sofia's. "Because that scenario is quite plausible."

"Exactly my reasoning," Sofia laughed into her coffee.

"I have no choice!" Greg informed his pals. "Tony Soprano…err Vartann made me an offer I couldn't refuse and I won't get hurt, because he protects me from the big bad cops."

**LVPD Locker Room **

**7:28 am **

"Tony, come on…" Detective Suldano, the department's top Fraud investigator, reasoned with his co-worker. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish with Sanders? The guy looked like a newborn giraffe on the court. You know…four wobbly legs and his head goin' in a different direction than his body. Your country club wife fits in better than him." He chuckled, "All the dykes love her. They trip over each other to help her load plates."

Tony had to laugh. "Did you see Tierney helping her with rows this morning? I totally caught her checking out Becca's body." Shutting his locker, he snickered, "Not that I blame her."

"I'd comment, but you'd kick my ass."

"Damn straight." Checking his pistol, Tony said, "I know Sanders is a geek and totally incompetent on the court, but he's also my wife's closest friend and a stand up guy." He holstered his weapon. "Give him a little more time. I think you'll be surprised at how well he fits in."

"Okay, man." Suldano shut his locker. "Because he's your buddy. Hey, speaking of buddies, what the hell did Stokes do to piss off Cavaliere? I heard him talkin' some serious smack about him yesterday with Rodgers."

After checking the area, Tony quietly said, "Yeah, well, I'm not much of a Cavaliere fan myself." With much glee, he added, "And now I outrank him. Ooh, that's gonna be fun."

Walking out of the locker room with his buddy, Suldano said, "By the way, I convinced the wife that your Saturday night invite to the new house really was for dinner only, so Jan and I will be there."

"She's **still **traumatized from showing up at the Marchellos' mixer?"

"She almost divorced me, remember?" He shook his head. "It took three weeks to convince her I really didn't know it was that kind of party."

"Sure you didn't," Tony laughed. "Hey, should I tell Becks to answer the door wearing a red silk robe over her dress?"

"Ha! Definitely."

"Your wife is how far along?"

"Twenty-one weeks."

"Becks will have a ton of questions for her." Tony slapped his buddy on the back. "I'll catch you later. Have a good one."

**Trinity Christian**

**7:55 am **

"Have a good day, Honey." Wendy waved to her patch wearing son as he moped toward the campus entrance. "Ryan!" When he came to the window, she whispered, "Be a good brother and help Sean make lots of nice friends."

"Then you should have said 'be a good **magician** and make people be Sean's friends."

"Ryan Patrick Blake, that comment will cost you dessert tonight."

"Shucks," the teen laughed, "I was really looking forward to curdled tofu surprise too." He ran off to catch up to his socially challenged brother. "You want me to show you around?"

"I'm supposed to go to the office first."

"This way." When Ryan saw Lindsay and Colin flirting it up in the courtyard, he distracted Sean. "Did you think of anything cool to get Aunt Carrie for her birthday yet?"

"No, I'm still stumped."

"Me too."

"It has to be something really good, because we're still making up for eavesdropping on her."

"Please don't remind me of that." Ryan shivered, the incident still gave him the creeps. "We know she doesn't need a Sex Ed book, that's for sure. Nick's her personal tutor." He opened the door to the school office. "You want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'll be okay."

"If anyone hassles you, just tell them you're my brother, okay?"

Moved by his brother's concern, Sean smiled. "Thank you."

"I'll see you at 7th grade lunch." Ryan dashed out the door, happy for the reprieve because there was still ten minutes of cheerleading practice to watch.

"You must be Sean," Yvonne, one of the school secretaries, smiled at the boy she had been expecting. "Your mom told us you had an eye injury."

"Oh," he sighed.

"To make things a little easier for you this first week, we've assigned you a buddy." Yvonne flashed a soothing smile. "She'll be here any minute."

Squirming from the thought of having some snooty girl mock his patch and deem him a geek in record time, Sean protested, "I don't need a babysitter. I have an IQ of 147, I'm sure I can figure everything out on my own."

"Here's Rachelle now." Yvonne pointed to the petite blonde wearing an eye patch over her left eye. "I'll tell her that you don't want to…"

"No!" Sean smiled at the bookish girl with the perky ponytail. "I probably should have help."

"Hi, Sean." Rachelle smiled wide, showing off her new braces. "They told me the new boy had a patch, but I didn't believe them."

"How did you hurt your eye?"

"I was launching a model rocket and this huge breeze kicked up and knocked blast off particles directly in my eye. I still have about two weeks to go with it on."

"You build model rockets?"

"It's one of my hobbies, yes. I also collect butterflies, run the chess club, fence, knit, and read murder mysteries. I want to be a Forensic Scientist when I grow up. You know, like the CSI people on the TV show."

"Me too!" Sean couldn't believe his luck. "My uncle is a CSI! And I'm good friends with the Master Criminalist at the Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"No way!" she said, spitting as she spoke. "Oh, sorry." Rachelle cringed when she realized what she had done. "The braces overactivate my salivary glands and when I talk fast…I spit."

"Me too!" he accidentally proved his point by sending droplets directly to her glasses. "See!"

"No, because you spit on my glasses."

Sean snorted with laughter. "You're really funny."

"So are you."

When Yvonne heard the two dorks laughing, she knew her work as Cupid was done. "Hurry along, kids. Or you'll be late."

**Nick's Denali**

**8:42 am **

"So, why were you **really **late this morning?" Greg reached for the radio. "Because I'm not buyin' the car battery story."

"Don't change the…" Nick rolled his eyes when rap music pounded out of the speakers, "…station."

"We're goin' to the 'hood, Bro. We can't have George Strait blasting."

"That was **Alan Jackson**, not George Strait."

"You heard one twang…"

"Stop." Nick shook his head. "Do not mock my music unless you want to get out of this truck and walk to the scene."

Noting the gangland surroundings, Greg opted to end his country music tirade. "Considering I barely survived a friendly game of basketball with a bunch of cops this morning, I definitely don't want to take my chances with the NLV Bloods."

"I'm not thrilled about you ridin' shotgun with me either."

"If Sara wasn't restricted, would you have brought her here instead of me?" When he didn't get an answer, Greg grumbled, "I'll take that as a resounding yes."

"Don't underestimate the ladies, Greggo. Sara has a very authoritative presence in the field. So does Sofia, but she's a little distracted from moving out of Irving's this weekend."

"I had a training session with him yesterday. I told him that the same thing happened with Tawny and me. Living together was really overwhelming, so we had to take a break and regroup, but now we're great."

Nick kept quiet as he turned off the main road.

"Maybe you ruined her," Greg laughed. "Because I swear, I've seen her looking at you with a twinkle in her eye, like she was thinking," he feigned a princess voice, "'if only the cowboy was still mine, life would be perfect. What does he see in Shoe Girl anyway? Besides Manolos, what does she have that I don't?'"

"Greg…"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up or you're walkin'."

"Shutting!"

"Look, Greggo…it's your jock buddy." Nick parked the Denali next to Vartann's car. "Now make me laugh by tryin' to talk sports with him. Ask him if he saw the New York Yankees trounce the New England Patriots this weekend."

"I'm not falling for that." Greg opened his door. "I know baseball season is over."

Nick broke into an easy laugh. "The Patriots are a football team, Jocko."

After stepping out of his car, Vartann waited for the CSIs. "Hey, guys. I just got here myself. I was stuck at a false alarm at The Trop. Convention guy from New Jersey. They found him in a puddle of vomit and blood, reeking of shit. I figure he passed out drunk, hit his face on the floor, puked and then crapped his pants when he was knocked out. I threw a bucket of ice water on him and when he jumped up, some wasted chick yells 'he's aliiiiiiiive! It's a miracle! Then she asks me if I can heal her STD'. I politely declined."

Shaking his head, Nick said, "If you had the power to cure STDs, you'd clean up in this city."

"Ha!" Greg pointed out the humor, "Clean up…STDs."

"Okay, pull it together, Chuckles." Scanning the area, swarming with residents who outnumbered the uniformed officers twenty to one, Vartann said, "Some of these guys will try to rile you talkin' smack about cops, don't bite, okay? Just keep your mouth shut."

"I already ordered him to shut up on the ride over." Nick alarmed the Denali and started walking. "What's the story here?"

As a woman's scream pierced the air, Vartann replied, "All I got was probable gang shooting, multiple shots heard, vic's head was blown off."

"Nice way to start the day." Nick shook his head, tired of the never ending gang disputes north of the city. "And look, my biggest fans, Rodgers and Fromansky are here. This is gonna be extra fun now."

"Fromansky!" Vartann barked over the unseen woman's sobs, "They're crowding the tape! Watch it, or we're gonna lose evidence."

"Not that it matters," Nick muttered as they waited for Vartann to clear a path to the tape. "Whoever did it will probably be killed before we ID him."

Greg whispered back, "Street justice moves way faster than us."

"Vartann?" Nick prodded when he saw him freeze upon ducking under the tape. "What's goin' on?" Then he saw the source of the frantic screams.

"Tanisha…" Tony vacantly said when he saw Jamal's mother being restrained by Rodgers. "Wh…" Slowly he turned his head.

"They killed my baby!" the grieving mother shrieked as tears gushed from her eyes.

Then Tony saw the bicycle the sheriff had presented Jamal, only now it was covered in blood. "No." Every ounce of oxygen left his lungs. "It's…no." He saw the sneakers he had given the boy when he stopped by with a Happy Meal on Sunday. "Oh God." His mind blocked the rest as his breathing quickened and the noise of the crowd faded.

"They blew my baby's head off!" Tanisha raged as she fought to break free. "Let me go to him!"

Stuffing down his emotions as far as they would go, Nick ducked under the tape and set his kit on the ground. "Tanisha…" he stepped forward with an outreached hand.

"They killed my baby!" Her words turned to gasps for air as her knees gave out. "They killed my baby."

"She's gonna bolt right to the body if I let her go, Stokes," Mike warned. "She's out of her head…rightly so."

Nick knelt in front of her. "Tanisha…it's Nick Stokes, Carrie's fiancé…from BPAC. You can't touch him, Tanisha, not now, not until we get all the evidence we need to catch who did this. Look at me, Tanisha." He took both of her hands in his. "I promise, as soon as we get him to the morgue, I'll take you to see him and you can spend as much time as you need. You can't touch him, not if you want us to get justice for this."

"Nick?" Tanisha gulped for air in front of the man she suddenly recognized. "They killed my baby."

"I know." Even with his enemy only a yard away, Nick didn't care that his eyes filled when the mother collapsed into his arms. "We'll get who did this," he whispered as she rocked in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

Mike returned to helping Fromansky control the crowd with Officers Juarez and Adams. "Back it up, people, back it up."

Greg swallowed the bile rising in his throat and forced his feet forward. Standing next to Vartann, who he wasn't even sure was breathing, he asked, "You okay?"

Tony stared at the sneakers spattered in blood. "I…I could have bought him expensive sneakers. You know I have the money. I could have bought him Nikes or Air Jordans, but I told him…" His voice cracked, "As I tied them, I said 'Jamal, I've seen kids get killed over expensive sneakers, I bought you these because they're…safe." His hands held his head as flashes of finding his high school sweetheart's blood-soaked body haunted him. "Who does this to a six year old? Who…" A few seconds later, he rushed the tape. "Who fucking does this to a six year old?! Someone here knows who did this and you better start talking! One of you knows something, god dammit!"

"Cut the bullshit," Morris Watson, a neighborhood activist, barked in the detective's face. "LVPD only cares about this because your poster child for cop lovin' is dead. Maybe if you people hadn't paraded that kid around on TV, he wouldn't have been a target. You ever fuckin' think about that?"

Greg locked his arms around Vartann's waist and yanked him back hard just as he reached to grab the guy at the tape by the collar. "Let's talk a walk, Buddy. You have a pregnant wife at home, you don't need any trouble, right?"

His entire body shaking, Tony sucked in a gulp of air. "Right…right."

"Let the big guy go, Pretty Boy!" Morris heckled from the tape. "We all got our videophones set to record the police brutality. You people only come here when someone dies and you hafta come! Maybe if your asses were here a little more often, kids wouldn't end up dead! Where's the Sheriff now, huh? Is he gonna come down here to pat Jamal's blown off head for the six o'clock news?! Nooooo that would be bad press."

"Hey!" Nick blasted the man as he comforted Tanisha. "How about showin' some respect for the boy's mom by not usin' her son as a talkin' point, you insensitive son of a bitch! Get him out of here, Fromansky!"

"I'm not goin' anywhere!" Morris dug in his heels. "I'm waitin' on the TV crew. I called them myself."

"Sir," Mike stepped forward, "As the officer responsible for securing the crime scene, it's within my authority to ask you to leave if you're causing a disturbance that jeopardizes the safety of the officers and citizens."

"I'm not hurtin' nobody." Morris folded his arms tight. "I'm just exercisin' my right to free speech. Maybe you didn't get the memo, but I have the same rights as you now, Cracker."

"Hey!" Mike snapped as he counted the seconds until the next wave of backup arrived, "Take your bullshit one hundred yards away and you'll have first access to the camera crew."

Watching Vartann and the restless crowd, Greg anxiously asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Tony breathed deep. "Thanks, man. I needed that." Holding his stomach, he fought the urge to hurl.

"Do you need…" Hearing the distinct sound of a car's wheels squealing at top speed, Greg whirled in the direction of the sound. "Duck and cover!" flew out of his mouth when he saw a guy standing up in the back of a convertible with a gun. "We're under fire!" Knowing Vartann was still dazed, he grabbed his arm when the crowd started to scream from the sound of bullets riveting from an automatic weapon.

With Tanisha still in his embrace in the open, Nick tackled her to the dirt, covering her body with his and praying the gunfire would fly far enough overhead.

The rush of forty frantic people scrambling for cover kicked up the dry dirt floor of the alley into a thick cloud.

"I think I hit one of them!" Juarez yelled into her radio as she took cover.

"Greg!" Nick yelled through the dusty air. When he didn't get an answer above the shrieks and cries, he grabbed his radio. "Sanders! Answer me!" As Tanisha trembled and cried beneath him, Nick nervously waited for an answer. "Sanders!"

"I'm here!" Greg's voice shot through the radio. "I dropped my radio, because my hands are sweaty. We're okay. Vartann and I are okay."

"Thank God," Nick breathed out as the dust settled. "I hear the backup now. Hang low until they get here. I'm gonna…" Then he saw Mike lying on his side in the dirt. "Rodgers?!" he called out. "Mike!" When his nemesis didn't move, Nick crawled away from Tanisha. "Mike?" Nick grabbed his shoulder. "Mike…" When he saw blood on his hand, he recoiled, and instinctually grabbed his radio. Then, as readied to depress the button, the only words came from the devil on his shoulder. _Every second counts, remember? Don't make the call." _Nick licked his lips as sweat beaded on his forehead._ Put the radio down and pretend you passed out. Do it! Remember the shit he pulled in the ambulance. He's evil. You **know** he's evil. He raped Wendy. He's Cassie's stepfather. Do you really want him alone with your little niece? What do you think he'd do to Carrie if he had the chance to get away with it? _

Nick stared at the radio in his bloody hand.

_If you make that call, you just may live to regret it. _

**Author's Notes: **

Welcome to Book 4!! Thanks for continuing the journey. I certainly hope you enjoyed the opening chapter :D

I wanted to gently reacquaint everyone with the characters before opening with a crime spanning a few chapters…**Book 1** was Nick and Carrie's attacker in the park**, Book 2** was Dante, **Book 3** was Celine's sister and sadly…Jamal is **Book 4's** victim. His death will impact many of the characters that had interacted with him and his Mom. The gang however…will work to solve his case in the next chapter, then along with their SOs, work to make sure he's not forgotten. That said, the next chapter does have a very happy moment…since Gris and Sara are at the OB's office with their phones off, they don't know about Jamal.** Boy geek or girl geek?? You'll find out for sure in the next chapter! **

**Next Chapter** – Sunday night, 2/18.

**Thanks again for showing up for Book 4!!**

**Maggs **


	2. Chapter 2

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 2**

**Tuesday, December 6, 2005 **

**Jamal Jones Crime Scene **

**8:59 am **

After making the call, Nick lowered his radio and gulped air. It seemed like eternity, but in reality, only twenty seconds had passed. Twenty seconds of soul searching that led him to the only possible answer.

"You're god damn lucky you made that call, Stokes!" Rodgers whirled around and grabbed him by the shirt, enjoying the girlish gasp that escaped from the startled CSI's mouth. "If you didn't call within sixty seconds, I was gonna make you sorry you were ever born."

The look in Mike's eyes sent a shiver up Nick's spine. "I thought you were unconscious."

"It's just a flesh wound," Rodgers snipped while releasing his grip. "At first I was playing dead so I wouldn't get shot again. Then I heard you and decided it would be a good test. I didn't hesitate when your life was on the line, so I wanted to see if you would extend me the same courtesy."

Nick scrambled to his feet as people started peeking out of their hiding spots. "When you're in uniform, you're my brother. I'd never violate the code." Eyeing the large red stain, he cleared his throat sharply. "Looks pretty bloody, you should apply pressure."

"Yeah." Mike had been waiting for just the right moment to show off his special artwork. "Good thing it's my right side, because if I got hit on the left, it could have messed up my tattoo. I got it in Ely right before I left. It has a slice mark from when I got cut in that…"

"You son of a bitch."

"What?" Mike played dumb.

"You know damn well what!" Nick screamed in his face. "That Risin' Phoenix is exactly the same as mine! In the same damn place even. Carrie and I got them to…" His tirade came to an abrupt halt when he heard the words to a familiar gospel song. "Tanisha!"

"Just his hand," the grieving mother cried next to her son's body. "He got scared when everyone was screaming. I'm just holdin' his hand and calming him with a song."

Seeing that the crime scene had been trampled by the people fleeing the gunshots, Nick's hopes for good shoe or vehicle prints sank. "Okay, Tanisha." Watching the devastated woman, his heart broke into a few more pieces. "You can hold his hand. Just don't do anything else or take anything off his body, okay?"

"I promise," she squeaked in between sobs.

"All clear!" Vartann yelled as he ran around the corner with Greg. "Fromansky! I need an injury count!" He was relieved to see four additional patrol cars arriving.

"This woman is critical!" Juarez shouted as she struggled to control the victim's bleeding with her first aid kit.

"EMTs are on their way!"

"Put these on." Nick tossed latex gloves at Vartann and Greg. "Universal precautions."

Pulling on the gloves, Vartann quietly said, "This scene is at least a triple now. There are two civilian fatalities to the right of the dumpster, multiple gunshot wounds to the back." The sound of Tanisha singing to her dead son edged him closer to his breaking point.

"I'm sure everyone will want to bolt," Nick told Greg, "Hurry and snap as many pictures of the crowd as you can while Vartann grabs names and numbers. I'll guard the scene."

"I'm on it, Boss!"

"Bro!" Nick gave a nod of approval. "Nice work…you were alert, calm, and you had our backs."

"I agree," Tony said as they hurried toward the crowd, "First you saved me from haulin' off on that asshole, then you saved the day."

"Just like Rudolph," Greg cryptically replied as he began his photo assignment.

**DA's Office **

**9:27 am **

Finished with her photo shoot, Carrie hurried back to her office making a mental To Do List for the rest of the day.

"Carrie!" ADA Steve Ogden rushed forward to meet his co-worker. "The DA just got a call." He sucked in a breath. "It's so horrible, I…"

"Oh my God. You look sick." Clutching her chest, she prepared for the worst. "What's going on?"

"Nick is fine," Steve assured her while he hurried them into his office for privacy. "I'm sorry, Carrie…Jamal Jones was shot and killed this morning while riding the bike the Sheriff presented him with at the banquet."

"Jamal?" The words didn't make sense. "Are you…are you sure?"

"He was only six," Steve breathed out as his emotions caught up with him.

Standing in front of a man who knew tragedy all too well, having lost his family because of a drunk driver's recklessness, Carrie let her tears flow. "He was just here yesterday with his mother. You were here…you saw me…I gave him a basketball." Tears choking her voice, she repeated, "I gave him a basketball and told him that exercise would keep him…healthy."

"I know how hard you were working to help Tanisha and…" Steve took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry." As Carrie sobbed into his chest, he whispered, "As many times as it happens to us and around us, loss doesn't get any easier."

All she could manage was a quick shake of her head.

Knowing Carrie regularly attended a Christian church, Steve felt comfortable leading a prayer, "Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jamal's days on Earth. Though his time was brief, he taught us much about the human spirit, and the importance of loving one another. He was a beautiful boy with a smile and energy that touched everyone who had the privilege to meet him. While our hearts ache from this tragic loss and for the loved ones he leaves behind, we beseech thee to grant him an eternal place in your kingdom while he lives forever in our hearts. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

"Amen," Carrie sniffled. "That was beautiful, thank you."

"I saw his eyes light up when you gave him the basketball yesterday," Steve remarked, hoping it would help. "Jamal passed knowing his family loved him and that many people cared about him. From what I learned on the phone call…his passing was quick, probably before he knew what hit him."

"That helps too."

"Good," Steve whispered while he tenderly wiped his co-worker's tears with his thumbs.

"Uh…"

"Oh! Oh my gosh, please forgive me." Staring at the mascara stains on his fingers, his embarrassment grew. "That was highly inappropriate." He flustered and hurried for some Kleenex. "I used to do that whenever my wife cried. She was a very emotional person, even cried watching Hallmark commercials." Extending the clump of tissues, he said, "I'm mortified. I sincerely hope you're not offended."

"Not at all," Carrie sweetly replied while blowing her nose. "I understand completely." Stepping forward she gave him what she figured was a much needed hug. "You miss her, just like I miss my mother. At times like these, the memories come flooding back."

"Exactly. I start to hear the phone call in my head…those words...'there was nothing we could do to save her'. She was DOA, the baby too." A single tear slipping down his cheek, Steve gulped and sank deeper into the embrace. "Thank you."

**BPAC **

**9:34 am **

"You're welcome," Drew replied after Becca gratefully accepted the decaf coffee he had surprised her with from Starbucks. "What are you up to today?"

"Right now, I'm picking the professional models who will stomp out with our amateur models during the fashion show. Later, I have an OB appointment. It's heartbeat day!"

"Aww, I remember doin' that. It was great." A bittersweet smile spread over his lips. "The first time, with Cassie, it didn't seem real until I heard it. It changed everything."

Sensing Drew needed a change of subject, Becca held up a thick file folder. "I have the models' pictures. Would you like to help me pick?"

"That's not necessary, I trust your judgment," Drew answered while walking to his office. The happy memory of taking Lissa to the OB for her first pregnancy checkup had him hating his Ex all over again.

After a minute of perusing the photos, she decided a man's opinion would be better. "Most of these models are wearing **very** skimpy clothes!" Standing up, she grabbed the file and her coffee.

"That's fine."

"Are you even listening to me?" she chuckled upon entering his office.

Drew glanced up from the document he was reading for the tenth time that morning. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Whatever you're reading must be good."

"Yeah." He tossed the document on his desk and reclined in his extra-large leather desk chair. "It's my attorney's response to an inquiry about my ComWright stock activity."

"Who was inquiring?"

"The Securities Exchange Commission."

"Uh oh." Becca whispered, "Are they accusing you of insider trading?"

"Not yet," he lightheartedly replied, "but I don't think they will. My statement basically says I took a risk based on research I had done, which I detailed. I said buyin' all those shares appeared to be a really bad move in the days immediately after and I was so sure I had made a mistake, that I even gave away some of my shares."

"The stock you gifted to Hoj to thank him for stopping you before you decked Mike Rodgers and were arrested for assaulting an officer?"

"Yep."

"You're crafty like a fox." Becca's eyes twinkled. "You gave Hoj the stock to prop your 'I thought it was worthless' story in case the SEC sniffed around."

"Noooo, I gave it to him to thank him," he winked, "and that's all I'm gonna say about that, Ma'am."

"I think I have a better understanding of how you came into your new money," she chuckled.

"How old is your money?"

"Some of it came over on the Mayflower."

"Seriously?"

"I am a true blue blooded poor little rich girl raised with big bucks and no love, just like my mother and everyone else before her." Placing her left hand over her heart, she sighed, "But the cycle will be broken when I love my baby."

**MedTech**

**10:20 am **

"Ready to meet your baby, Mr. and Mrs. Grissom?" Debbie Grant, the 3D Ultrasound technician, cheerily asked once she was set up.

"Yes!" The impatient father was ready to explode from anticipation.

"Now I'm totally nervous." Suddenly the sex of the baby didn't matter at all. Gripping her husband's hand, all Sara wanted was a healthy diagnosis.

"Everything will be perfect, Honey." Gil stroked her cheek. "Deep breath."

"He's gonna be a good labor coach," the perky red-head commented while adjusting her patient's cloth gown.

"Yeah." Sara's eyes started to glass. "He's already a great husband and knows his way around a lab, so I consider myself a very lucky woman."

Gil showed his appreciation with a kiss.

"Don't worry, this gel isn't cold." Debbie squeezed the bottle over the patient's belly.

"Ooh, that feels nice actually." The warmth of the heated gel soothed Sara ever so slightly.

"Do you want to know the sex if I can determine it?"

"Yes," the expectant parents replied as their smiles grew.

"Let's hope your son or daughter cooperates."

"What's your pulse at now, Honey?" Sara teased, using the line that had become an inside joke.

"Off the charts."

"Yeah, I'd believe it. I can hear your heart beating from two feet away."

"Okay," Debbie announced after several minutes, "I'm ready for the big reveal."

To Gil, it felt like hours had passed. "Thank God." He held both of Sara's hands. "Quickly, before I faint."

"I take back what I said about you making a good labor coach." Chuckling, she turned the screen so the parents-to-be could see their baby's face for the first time. "Mom and Dad, I'd like to introduce you to your…baby boy."

"Boy." Sara stared at the Tech. "You said boy. As in…son. We're having a son? Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Debbie chuckled. "After you finish staring at his face, I'll go back and show you his package. There's no doubt in my mind."

"Did you hear that?" When Sara glanced over, she saw her husband's eyes were glazing as his smile filled the room.

"It's a boy," he robotically stated while falling madly in love with the image on the screen. "A son."

"Thanks for the Y chromosome, Honey." Sara considered pinching herself because the reality was far too good to be true. "And kudos to the boy-carrying swimmer who saved me from a girly girl. I'm thrilled that jock won the race." She pointed to the screen. "He's beautiful."

"Yes." Gil stealthily wiped a tear. "And so are you." Cupping his wife's cheeks, he kissed her deeply. "Thank you for not giving up."

"Aww, did you have a hard time conceiving?" Considering their ages, the Tech thought it quite possible.

"No, conceiving was a cake walk compared to getting my husband to ask me out on a date."

Laughing together, the blissful parents stared at the screen cheek to cheek.

"He's gorgeous," Gil whispered in Sara's ear. "Just like his mother."

Tears of joy pouring from her eyes, Sara trembled with anticipation. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Owen Grissom."

"That's a nice name," Debbie said with approval. "You wouldn't believe some of the crazy ones I hear, like the names related to people's hobbies. My all time favorite was E-S-P-I-A-N, named after the ESPN sports channel. The dad was a big time football nut. What's your hobby, Mr. Grissom?"

"Racing cockroaches."

"Champion cockroaches," Sara proudly clarified. "He trounced the competition at the last Forensic Entomology Conference."

"Wow. I never met a cockroach racer before." Debbie silently wished baby Owen good luck with his freakish parents. "That's interesting." She pointed to the screen. "Right there is how I knew Owen was a boy."

"Impressive." Gil whispered in his laughing wife's ear, "Takes after his father."

Cherishing every second of the joy, Sara returned her gaze to the screen. "I can't wait for our special little guy to arrive."

**Jamal Jones Crime Scene **

**10:45 am **

"Brass!" The Sheriff hurried over. "What the hell took you so long?!"

"I was getting my department-required annual physical, so my phone was turned off. Judy called the doctor's office and had the receptionist hand walk the message." Eyeing the sea of patrol cars, Jim sighed, "When I got here, I had to park three blocks away."

"After the drive-by, I didn't want to take any chances, so I blockaded the streets with patrol cars."

"Where are my guys?"

"Nick's over here." The sheriff led the way. "Officer Rodgers took a bullet, but it was just a flesh wound."

"Did he bleed red?" Jim snipped, while silently cursing the shooter for not having better aim.

"Yeah." The sheriff quietly added, "Too bad he didn't bleed out. Stokes! Your boss is here."

The spatter-covered bike jarring him, Jim was relieved that the little boy's body had already been removed. "Jesus Christ…what a tragedy," he said while the Sheriff walked off to take an incoming call.

"Tragedy is an understatement." Nick was packaging the bicycle for transport. "Times like this I wish public stoning was still an acceptable punishment. Not that there would be a rock big enough for the bastard who blew that innocent boy's head off." The image haunted him once more. "Jim, the gun had to be less than a foot away. This wasn't just cold-blooded, it was evil."

"We'll get whoever did this, don't worry." Brass stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It's all hands on deck. The Sheriff isn't going to settle. He's made that clear to me and the DA. Does Carrie know?"

"Yeah." Nick stood and removed his gloves. "She was heartbroken. She wanted to come down here for the press conference, but I told her 'forgive my chauvinism, but no way, Sweetheart. I forbid you to come within twenty miles of here. Tensions are runnin' high and I don't want my future wife taking a slug in the chest. Even invincible Mike got shot today'. Then I told her if she showed up here, I'd throw her over my shoulder and drive her ass back to town myself."

"How'd she take that?"

"Believe it or not, she said 'You're right, Nicky'."

"Shocking!" When he heard Vartann shouting in the background, Jim remarked, "He rarely loses his cool."

"The poor guy just bought Jamal sneakers and a Happy Meal on Sunday. When we got here, those sneakers had bits of the kid's brain matter on them." Nick resumed evidence collection. "If Ghandi were alive to see this, he'd be screamin' his head off too. Vartann almost pummeled a mouthy civilian before the shooting. Now he's going after every member of the NLV Bloods. He's…"

"No…stone…unturned," Tony shouted in the rookie's face. "How was that not clear? Didn't I say…knock on every door…front and back. Get names, numbers, details. Check every legally searchable inch of this neighborhood. Ask anyone you see every pertinent question. Didn't I?"

"Y…yes, Sir," twenty-two year old Officer Mark Madison answered. "I'm very sorry, Sir. I'll go back and do it right this time."

"Go!"

"Vartann!" One look at his face and Jim knew the guy was about to snap.

After pulling in a choppy breath, Tony nodded, "How can I help you?"

"Far be it from me to tell a veteran what to do, but…this is a horrible situation, you're emotionally attached to the deceased, you've already crossed the line with a civilian, and you're in possession of a firearm. You need to get some air."

Offended by the statement, Tony countered, "No, I need to catch the bastard who killed Jamal. His father is a member of the NLV Bloods. Even though he's in prison, he can make things happen here. I don't think he liked the idea that his son was riding around on a bike bought with LVPD money. I'm shaking down every one of those thugs until someone tells me…"

"What you want to hear?" Jim calmly said, "That's not how we solve cases, remember?" He pointed to Nick. "They collect evidence, you round up suspects based on that evidence and then we go after the** right** guy. What you're doing here is a witch hunt based on your opinion, not evidence. You need some air."

"I'm right, god dammit!"

"Jones is a banger, yeah…but they take care of their own, you know that. What makes you think he ordered his six year old's head blown off? He was the kid's father, his flesh and blood."

"You don't think father's kill their own kids?!" Tony barked, getting into Jim's face. "Every fucking day, fathers hurt their kids**, kill** their kids, they use their toddlers as ashtrays and 'accidentally' snap their kid's neck when they're too wasted to know their own strength. So, damn straight I believe a father would order his kid's head blown off as a statement, or stab his daughter until her blood soaks the beige carpet beneath her red!" When he gasped for air, he saw everyone in the immediate area gaping at him. "I…"

"Hey!" Jim calmly whispered, "I** strongly** **suggest** that you get some air, Lieutenant Vartann, and once you've pulled it together, I think it would be best that you work from the station. I will be advising your Captain of my opinion on this matter. Do you get what I'm saying? Please don't make me pull rank and take your gun. Get…some…air."

Tony glanced over at Greg and when he saw him nod, he returned his gaze to Brass. "If you'll excuse me, Sir…I need some air. I'm going to get in my car, advise my Captain of my change in plans, and take an early lunch. My wife has an ultrasound appointment this afternoon and I don't want to miss it."

"Good plan." Relieved that the ticking bomb was removing itself from the area, Jim walked over to Greg. "What are you working on, Sanders?"

**Crime Lab **

**11:12 am **

"Tawny! What do you think you're doing?" Val, Nick's secretary, snipped when she caught the blonde snooping in her desk drawers.

"Looking for a binder clip." Tawny closed the drawer and held up her find. "I hope you don't mind. I was using a smaller one on this file Nick requested, but it popped and the pages went everywhere."

"I don't like people touching my stuff." Val did a quick inspection and was relieved to see that the schedules she had printed for Mike were still hidden. "If you want something, please ask."

"The drawer was open and…"

"It's common courtesy!"

"Okay, okay." Tawny handed over the file. "Jeeeeez, who peed in your Cheerios this morning?"

"Why can't you be a moody bitch like every other pregnant woman around here?" Val snatched the file. "Your perkiness is unnerving."

**Trinity Christian **

**11:25 am **

"Ryan!" Sean excitedly waved as he hurried into the cafeteria. "I'm having the best day!"

"Whoa…isthat eye-patched perky geek your brother?" Leo asked his buddy.

"Don't talk smack about my brother, dude." Ryan stealthily returned Sean's wave. "Especially since he has to buy me lunch today."

"I'm having the best day!" Spit flew from Sean's mouth as he excitedly danced in place. "I met this great girl, and I love my classes, I'm in time to participate in Science Fair, and I made the cross country team! I love it here! I'm cool here!"

Leo bit his tongue.

"Yay," Ryan quietly replied. "Okay, stop doing that crazy jig or whatever it is, and feed me. It's Bacon Double Cheeseburger day and this carnivore is couldn't be happier."

**Desert Breeze Park **

**11:34 am **

"This is the perfect way to celebrate our good news," Sara remarked as Gil spread their picnic blanket over the grass. From their locale, they had a clear view of the children having fun on the large play structure.

"I thought it would be nice to observe the little creatures in their habitats." He lounged on the blanket, surprised he could relax and enjoy himself with his pager and phone turned off. "Let's observe for thirty minutes and then report and discuss our findings."

Sara laughed at her husband's scientific tone. "Too bad we didn't bring notebooks and pencils."

"Right here." Gil handed over supplies, thrilled his lighthearted idea was coming off well. "I thought of everything."

"Except that we'd be having a son."

He lunged for his gloating wife and rewarded her prediction with a lingering kiss.

"Mmm…I never saw myself as the romance in the park kind of girl, but I'm diggin' it," she chuckled with all the joy of the day fueling her laughter. "Oooh, did you catch that sand-throwing behavior the female one in the pink sweater just exhibited. Do you think it's violence or frustration motivating her?"

"Curiosity," Gil answered, feeling good about seeing a fresh perspective. "She wanted to know what would happen if she threw it. It's quite possibly what young Newton did as a child."

When the little girl in the pink started kicking a girl in a green jacket, Sara shook her head. "I'm going with violence."

"It's a full on at fight. I had no idea they started that young."

"Girls are bitches, that's why I didn't want one." She patted her belly. "Owen won't be mean."

"He'll reason with his mind, not his fists."

"Like he'll have a choice, being born of two geeks."

Gil was about to correct his wife when he saw a parade of ants by the edge of the blanket. "Good thing I packed a magnifying glass." He raced to observe the creatures. "Look at them. I can't wait to introduce our son to all of this."

"Did you know there's an ant song for kids? Nick taught it to me, said it's da bomb with the toddler set. Barney even made a single of it." Sara quietly sang to her belly, "The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah. The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah."

"Who are we?!" Gil burst out laughing.

"Parents." Sara rolled onto her back, taking in the high moving clouds of fluffy white. "I've never been more excited and scared about anything in my life."

"Me either."

Propping on an elbow, she whispered, "And so much of my sadness is gone."

**The Vartanns **

**11:44 am **

Tony wasn't inside the house for two seconds before his eyes welled. "I can't…" Panting, he slid down the living room wall, relieved that he could finally release his emotions in private.

As gory images flashed in his mind along with happy memories of Jamal in full smile, Tony knew that Jim was right, he had been a snap away from losing control all morning. "I'm losing it, I'm losing it," he repeated while tears dumped from his eyes.

Although it was highly abnormal, it wasn't the first time he had gone over the edge working a case. It was always the same scenario, the same vicious elements…an innocent child, a horrific crime, an unfathomable loss. Jamal, Quinn, Tanya, Xavier, Hanna, the nameless, the faceless, the unidentifiable. They all led back to one powerful memory that his brain kept locked up tight until the circumstances were right…Karina.

"Tony…"

He lifted his eyes, expecting to see his high school girlfriend, but it was his wife who was sitting in front of him.

"Hoj called."

"Becca," he breathed out, embarrassed to be breaking down in front of her, but relieved he would no longer be alone.

"When you didn't answer your phone, I came home, hoping you'd be here."

"They shot him right in the…"

"I know."

Tony rambled as he cried, "This guy in the crowd said…he said the department made him a target…because we gave him that bike."

Forcing herself not to cry, she pressed her hand against his soaked cheek. "I'm so sorry."

"I think he's right."

"The bike wasn't even your idea. They put you and Jamal in the spotlight to prop the Sheriff."

His trembling body shook the tears from his eyes. "Maybe he'd still be alive if we didn't give him that bike. Then I visited twice bringing sneakers, McDonalds and groceries. Carrie was giving him stuff too. We made him a target. Maybe someone was jealous…or maybe someone was pissed that a couple of rich white people were doing stuff, maybe it was insulting? I don't know. I'm so sick over it."

Guiding her devastated husband's head onto her shoulder, she whispered, "If someone killed a sweet little boy because he got sneakers, food and toys from well-meaning people, then they're an animal with no conscience. It's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault except the killer's. Deep down you know that, you're just too devastated to think straight."

"I was fixing up the house for them," he erratically breathed.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Honey? When did you…"

"Her father thought her mom had a guy in her life. That's why he flew into a jealous rage…but her mom didn't have a new guy, it was just me. It was me…it was my fault."

"Honey…you're not making any sense." She stroked his hair. "Tanisha's father died when she was ten. When did you work on their house?"

"No." Tears squeezing out of clenched eyes, Tony clarified, "Karina's father. I was eighteen and big from playing ball. From far away, where he was hiding in the trees…he thought I was older and with his wife."

When Becca heard a gut-wrenching cry coming from Tony as he clung to her, she could suddenly understand why Gina had fallen in love with him that day in San Diego. It was impossible not to want to spend the rest of her life making him happy after listening to the pain oozing from his soul. "What made you…"

"The sneakers." He burrowed his face into her hair. "His sneakers were covered in blood…just like hers, everything was covered in blood, there was even cast-off on the big teddy bear I won her at the State Fair. I can still see the room. I can still smell it, it's like I'm right there." He wished for a way to erase the memories from his mind, a cerebral delete button that in one click, would make it finally all go away.

"I love you so much," she choked out as they rocked. The dam holding back her tears finally broke. "It wasn't your fault."

"Becca…" Tony whispered after a lengthy silence.

Staring into his swollen red eyes, she felt his heartbreak.

"There's something I've never told anyone, but I've been listening to you and thinking about it for months and…I think you won't hate me if I tell you."

"I could never hate you," she assured, while gripping his shaky hands. "Look at me. You can tell me anything."

When their eyes locked, Tony took a deep breath and released the secret he'd been holding for twenty-two years. "It was Saturday night, and Karina and I had been waiting for my parents to go out to this police charity thing. We were crazy about each other, so when they finally left, we raced up to my room and tore our clothes off. It was dark…we were rushing…the condom broke at some point, but I didn't feel it. A few weeks later, we found out she was pregnant." After another gasp of air he unloaded a little more baggage. "She refused to tell her mother, because she had sworn to her that we weren't having sex. I was trying to prove to Karina that I could take care of her and the baby."

"By fixing up her house and helping…"

"Yeah, but no matter how hard I tried, she insisted on an abortion because she didn't want her mother to know." Tony somberly continued, "The night before she was killed, we fought about it one last time. We were both freaked out and crying, but eventually I gave in, because it was my fault she was pregnant, and it was her body. We walked home from the park holding hands, and when we got to her front door, I hugged her and said I'd ask Matt for the money. She blew me a kiss from the door with tears in her eyes. She said 'I love you, Tony'. I didn't say it back. I said it back so many times, but I couldn't that night….not when she didn't believe in me." He lowered his head. "That was the last time I saw her alive."

"But she knew, trust me. We could have the wickedest fight tomorrow, but I'd still know you loved me, Tony. You're just that kind of guy."

"Thank you."

"What did Matt say when you asked him for the money?"

"I didn't ask him. I chickened out. After everyone went to bed, I stole the money from my parents' secret stash. Then, I was up all night, tossing and turning. In my mind, on top of getting Karina pregnant, I had just become a thief and was about to fund murder. It was killing me. And while it was killing me, her father was there…killing her." He vacantly said, "If her father hadn't confessed, they would have done an autopsy and found out. They might have even thought I did it because of the baby."

"It's good that you got that all out, Honey."

Squeezing her hand, he shuddered from the memory. "I was terrified, Becca. I still am."

"No." Desperately trying to be strong for the man who was always there for her, Becca whispered, "There's no reason to be scared anymore."

"When I couldn't have kids, I thought I was being punished, and even though we know Amy was causing that…now that you're pregnant…" Pulling her close he blurted his final panicky thought, "I'm scared something is going to be wrong when we go to the doctor today, and if something is wrong…I don't want you to think it's your fault. Promise me, if something is wrong, you'll believe it's not your fault. I don't want you to lose your mind if something is wrong with the baby. I don't want feel responsible for that too." He held her tight. "I can't lose you too."

**Crime Lab – Nick's Office **

**1:11 pm **

"I could have lost you today," Tawny sniffled, thankful Greg had broken the news about the drive-by while they were alone, in the privacy of Nick's office. "I spent my lunch break surfing EBay for a special gift to commemorate our first Christmas together." She flicked tears from her cheeks. "It really would have sucked to receive what I ordered on the day of your funeral."

"Hey now, Clarice." Greg took her in his arms. "Although there is an element of danger associated with my job, I know how to navigate my way through storms, remember?" He tapped his red nose. "And, no matter how bad things look or sound, nothing bad ever **really **happens to heroes in stories."

"I appreciate the Rudolph humor, I really do, but I'm very pregnant with twins and scared to death that I came close to raising them myself today."

"You're the one who who's been urging me to stay in the field!" he half-laughed. "How many times have I said that I should quit, because I could be making almost twice as much in a lab?"

"Sorry, I should have listened to you." She nodded frantically. "Quit."

"What? **No!**" Greg protested, "I love my job now. I mean, I've always loved it, but I didn't think I could do it. You made me believe I could do it well, and now I'm doing it well…great, actually. Nick went to bat for me and received permission to remove the red flag from my personnel file. After that, he put through the paperwork to promote me to CSI II. I can't walk away now that I…"

"Really?" Tawny's tears ceased. "A two?!"

He pushed out a disappointed sigh, "Yeah, I had this great plan to surprise you with the news this weekend, but now I blew it."

"That's so cool! I'm so proud of you! Congratulations!" She threw her arms around his neck and assaulted him with juicy kisses. "Sorry that I wussed out just now." Breathing deep she said, "I blame the hormones."

"With my DNA experience, a published paper, and a Medal of Valor, I won't have to start at the bottom of the pay scale either. My salary will jump from forty-three to sixty-one thousand, which is still less than I was making in the lab, but much better."

"Eighteen thousand more dollars a year?! That will pay for diapers, formula…everything!" she cheered. "Between your raise and our ComWright stock, we're rich!"

**Grimaldi Jewelers **

**1:33 pm **

"It's a bargain at twenty-six thousand," Leo Kaplan informed his obviously wealthy customer while praying for a sale. "It's stunning, is it not? The lady who is presented this ring, can't possibly say no. It's exquisite, and fits your requirement that it be gorgeous and over twenty thousand dollars."

Staring at the ring, Drew couldn't imagine Marta wearing it. "Uh..." Having spent twenty grand on Lissa's ring, he didn't want to pay less for Marta's, but he was starting to think that his approach was all wrong. "Yeah, it's beautiful, but sorry…it's just not somethin' my girl would feel comfortable wearin'."

"Okay then." Crushed, Leo returned the store's priciest ring to the glass case. "I have this one for twenty-one?"

"No, no…it's way over the top."

"Perhaps it would help if you told me a little bit about your lady."

His eyes lighting up, Drew replied, "Marta is an incredibly sweet, loving woman. She's not materialistic one bit. She's hardworking, with a very strong moral character."

"Is she Amish?"

"No, but close," Drew chuckled. "She grew up on a farm in Iowa and her parents are evangelical Christians."

"Let's take a different approach," Leo suggested. "Tell me which part of her bodyyoulove most and from that, I'll be able to direct you to the perfect ring."

"What?"

"Trust me, it works," Leo chuckled.

"Okay." Drew pondered the question until his lips fanned into a blissful smile. "Her heart."

"Right this way."

**The Rodgers Home **

**1:41 pm **

"He's in the bedroom," Officer Fromansky informed Lissa, who had just arrived home from shopping. "A fragment of the bullet was lodged in his flesh and had to be dug out."

"Uh…." Lissa held up her hand. "I get squeamish around blood, so you can skip the details, thanks."

"He's a little loopy because the doc gave him some heavy duty pain medication. When that wears off, he has a prescription on the kitchen counter. We stopped and filled it at the CVS drive-thru on the way back from the hospital." Sighing, he said, "You're lucky he didn't die out there today."

"Yeah," Lissa groaned, almost wishing things had worked out a little differently. "Thanks for your help, I can take it from here." She held open the door.

"Tell him to..."

"Bye." She shut the door in the annoying cop's face and went to the kitchen to fetch Mike's prescription. "Just as well he didn't die, because I haven't gotten around to taking out a hefty life insurance policy on him yet." She was certain Nick or Drew would end up killing her husband at some point in the future and intended on making a nice profit when it happened. "Ooh." She popped open her husband's Percoset, grateful to have something to get her high since Mike had banned illegal drugs from their home. "A couple of these will do me just fine."

**LVPD – Interrogation Room A **

**2:04 pm **

"Did you do it, Morris?" Jim Brass asked through gritted teeth as Nick stood in the corner of the room observing. "Did you kill that kid to make a statement? Answer me!" He jumped in the guy's face. "We found your fingerprints on the bike, his backpack, and on the kid's bloody sneaker!"

"I didn't kill that kid. I can't** believe** you think I killed that kid!"

"You have a rap sheet a mile long!"

"I was a fuckin' thug before I turned my life around. Of course I have a record, Sherlock!"

"Then explain to us how your prints got there." Jim rushed to the door and flung it open. "Or you don't have to say anything and leave. You better hope Allah is protecting you, Pal, because everyone in the 'hood thinks you blew a six year old's head to bits. You'll be dead before our warrant is granted."

"Shut the damn door!" Morris snapped, knowing the cop was right. "I talked to the boy yesterday, a'ight. I grabbed the damn bike, that's why my prints are on it. I told him he looked like a fool riding on that damn thing. I said 'Jamal, you don't need that Po-Po bike, give it to me, and I'll buy you a different one'. The kid was too young to know he was bein' used and duped." He shook his head. "He got all uppity on me, goin' on about Detective Varatann being a nice cop, bringing him chicken fucking nuggets and cheap-ass sneakers because Air Jordans would get him beat up in the 'hood. That's when I grabbed his backpack. I asked him if Super Cop gave him that too."

"No, he didn't," Nick coolly replied, "it was courtesy of BPAC, which stands for Bringing Peace and Comfort to Kids…something I doubt you ever do. It had a small pillow, some books, a nerf football, crayons, a notebook, and a stuffed bear in it. What exactly was offending you so badly, that you had to grab it from a happy little boy?"

Morris immediately replied, "The fact that it came from an arrogant prick like you."

"I've had enough of you, you son of a…"

"Nick!" Jim held him back. "Can you check with DNA on those results, thanks?"

After staring down the suspect, Nick marched out of the room. "God I'm pissed!" He yelled once the soundproof door was closed. To release a little more steam he kicked a vending machine with his steel-toed boot, putting a nice dent in the metal. "I'll pay for that!" the millionaire informed the sergeant glaring at him. Grabbing his cell phone, he yelled, "Trust me, I'm good for it."

**Grissom's Office **

**2:14 pm **

"I feel so irresponsible," Sara confessed upon shutting the door to her husband's office. Alone with her co-conspirator, she could tell the truth. "The **one time** we play hooky, we miss an all-hands-on-deck for a murdered six year old boy." Her hands rested on her womb. "I can't imagine what…"

"I don't want to." Gil moved around his desk and uncharacteristically hugged his wife in public. "I can't go there, Sara. It took me decades to take this risk, I just can't." Releasing her, he headed for the door. "I need to check on…" When a lie didn't come to him, he left it at that.

"Okay." Once she was alone, Sara locked the door and sat on the floor. There, in the one private spot of the glass-walled office, she gave herself permission to cry.

As much as the pregnancy had been bothering her, as moody as she'd been, in that moment, all she wanted was a guarantee that one day, she'd get to hold her baby boy in her arms.

**Carrie Blake's Office **

**2:20pm **

With the phone pressed to her ear, Carrie whispered, "Until today, my biggest fear was that something would go wrong and we wouldn't get our baby, but now…" Wiping her tears with shaky fingers, she stared at the ceiling. "I can't imagine having a child for six years and then losing him like that, Nicky. I mean…I've been listening to Marjorie talk about losing Kyle, but Kyle was nearly an adult, Jamal was an innocent little boy who was just trying to ride his bike on a beautiful winter day."

"At least they had that little vacation at The Tempest over Thanksgiving. You made that happen for them, Sweetheart. When Jamal passed, he was lovin' life. He knew he had family who cared about him and he had people in his corner helping his mom and him have a better future. That's what I'm clingin' to right now."

"I'll try thinking that way."

"Tanisha's out of her head understandably, Jamal's grandma too, but they had a couple of family friends bring them to the morgue earlier and I told them that the Vartanns said they would pay for all the funeral expenses."

"That's nice."

"Tony's devastated. The kid was wearin' the sneakers he had bought him this weekend. It was horrible, Carr. I was really relieved when Jim got him to leave the scene."

"The poor guy already had a full plate."

"Drama's come in threes. Amy's death, his sister-in-law flippin' out, and now this. At least he's done."

"I hope we are too."

"I looked at the baby's ultrasound photo a dozen times today."

"Nicky…we're going to need more on Morris than those fingerprints," she sniffled while forcing herself into a change of subject. "Without GSR or Jamal's blood on his hands or clothes…without witnesses…we need more to prosecute."

"In my gut, I think we have the wrong guy," Nick replied. "I believe Morris scared the hell out of the kid, and for that I'd love to fry him, but I didn't get a murder vibe. It wasn't in his eyes. Assault with a deadly weapon was the furthest he ever got on his rap sheet. He pistol whipped some guy. I don't see him escalating to murder after he's been clean for years and pickin' a kid as a victim. Gris agrees, it doesn't work with his profile."

"So, we're back to square one," she sighed while reaching for another handful of comforting M&Ms. "If Morris isn't the killer, we can go after him for assault. With his record, that'll send him back to prison.

"We're goin' back out as soon as Greg's done helpin' rush everything through DNA."

"I'll call Becca and see how Tony's doing."

**St. Sebastian's Catholic Church **

**2:47 pm **

"Are you okay, Tony? I can't believe how long you were in there." Becca had been sitting in a pew for almost forty minutes, anxiously waiting for her husband to emerge from the confessional. "You look really pale."

"It was pretty intense," he whispered. "I haven't been to confession in years and I had** a lot **to say."

Taking his hand, Becca couldn't wait to bolt. "Let's get out of here, because I feel like every saint statue in this place is staring at me. It's creepy, their eyes follow you."

"We can't go, Honey. I have to do my penance now."

"Penance? Oh! That's like when you have to say a Hail Mary, right?"

"Well, what you have to say depends on everything you confessed. The priest matches the punishment to the crime. A small confession usually warrants a Hail Mary or two, but big stuff gets a lot more."

"What do you have to say?"

"I have to pray the rosary three times." From his jacket pocket, Tony retrieved his grandmother's beads, which had been given to him as a keepsake after she died.

"How do you pray the rosary?"

"Each bead has a prayer and…"

"**Each?!**" She gaped at the plethora of jade beads. "There are dozens."

"Fifty to be exact." Knowing they had to be at the doctor's office soon, he rushed for a pew to get started.

"A hundred and fifty prayers?! Jesus! You didn't kill anybody, Tony, why so many? Why didn't you plea bargain for a lesser punishment? Did you tell him that you're a cop who saves lives and…"

"Shh!" Tony glanced over his shoulder and respectfully nodded at the priest moving about the altar. "Yes, I told him all that, and about my charity work through BPAC."

"Maybe you told him too much. How do you decide what you have to confess anyway?"

"For starters, you go down the Commandments like a checklist. You have to confess all mortal sins or your soul will be condemned to hell upon your death."

Sitting next to her husband she asked, "Okay, so…the sex party stuff would be coveting thy neighbor's wife, but what other mortal sins could you have possibly committed? You're such a good guy, Tony….sweet and kind, patient and generous. Maybe I could talk to him as your character witness?"

"Honey, I've committed a ton of sins. I haven't been coming to mass or observing holy days."

"Not showing up for church is a mortal sin?" She couldn't believe her ears. "What if you're sick?"

"It has to be serious, not just a cold or stomachache." He could tell from the look on her face she was baffled. "I take the Lord's name in vein all the time. I've lied to my parents on numerous occasions. I abused alcohol until I met you. Then all the sex stuff…like impure thoughts of women I wasn't married to."

"But you haven't had any since we married, right?"

"Actually, yeah, I have. Like when I've had to go to strip clubs for work I couldn't help but look at the girls and joke with the guys, I'm human."

"Example, please."

In a barely audible whisper, he replied, "Stuff like 'check out the rack on blondie'."

"Okay, God may say no to that, but I understand that's kind of impossible to ignore stripper girls who are flaunting their glittery boobs."

"Thanks, Honey." He smiled for the first time since the tragedy. "While I'm living better now, with you, I had to confess everything I did before marrying you. Adultery, even though it was at Amy's request, was still cheating. I was having sex with married women, watching porn, using condoms…"

"How can God not support the use of condoms? If He is all-knowing, why doesn't he know the risks of unprotected sex?"

"He does, Honey, but his reply is 'don't have sex outside marriage. Only have it with your clean spouse, preferably to conceive babies'. I also had to confess whacking off in the shower every day when I was in my bitter divorcee phase."

"But what if a guy doesn't want to rush into marriage because he's focused on his career or not mature enough? He can't touch himself **or** have sex? Seriously…is that even biologically possible for a man? It has to come out. I can't imagine how thirty years of buildup would impact a guy's ability to walk."

"If it comes out on its own at night, then it's not a sin."

"Even if you were dreaming impure thoughts when it happened?"

"No, because you can't control what you dream. At least I wouldn't think it counts. I guess if the impure thoughts at night resulted from a reality-based reference…ugh, I don't know." Tony dropped his weary head in his hand. "I can't think about this stuff, Becks. That's the good part about being Catholic, you don't have to think, you just follow the rules and if you break one, you go to confession for a clean slate. If I start to think about all this stuff, it sounds ridiculous and I wonder why I'm even doing it."

"Why are you doing this if you have no intention of coming here every Sunday and…"

"Because I'm freaked out about the baby being cursed for my sins. Which I know sounds stupid, but when I'm under duress, I get paranoid and hear my mother, grandmother and various parochial school nuns and priests in my head. They're all telling me I screwed up and will pay for my sins if I don't repent." Gripping her hands with his, he sweetly pleaded, "Just let me say my rosary, so we can leave and get to our appointment on time. I'm a pro, I can knock out one rosary every twenty minutes, so it'll be about an hour. You didn't get Carrie a birthday gift yet. Take the car, go shopping, and then come back here and pick me up."

"I'm not shopping while you frantically pray for our baby's health! That's so Old Becca. The new, karmically-conscious Becca, is all about supporting her fellow man, remember? " Grabbing a book from the pew, she asked, "Are the fifty prayers in here? Because if you show me, I'll say one rosary while you do the other two."

"Thanks for offering, Honey, but it doesn't work that way. The sinner can't delegate his penance."

"But we're married, what's mine is yours and what's yours in mine. That means I can take half of your sin."

Placing a kiss on her cheek, he whispered, "You can help by lighting some candles. All you have to do is drop some money in the offering box, light one and say a prayer. You don't have to be Catholic to do that."

"Oooh! I've seen that on TV." She jumped up, determined to pay for every unlit one in the place. "Lighting!"

**The Rodgers Home **

**3:26 pm **

"Do you mind if I put a light on?" Lissa serenely asked her husband who was lying on the bed in the dark, staring at the ceiling.

"Go ahead," Mike quietly replied.

Now that the Percoset had kicked in, she was finally in the mood to placate her husband's voracious sexual appetite and claim her next monetary prize. "I bought that new lingerie you told me to get this morning." With her man so out of it, she figured he'd be easy to satisfy. "Look."

"Lissa…" Mike watched in amazement as she traded her clothes for lace. "I'm not in the mood."

"I find that hard to believe," she huffed while adjusting her red teddy. "You've kept me busier than a Bunny Ranch girl."

"I'm serious. Before I got shot, I spent my morning guarding a six year old with a blown off head and..."

"Look here!" Posing seductively, Lissa purred, "I'll make you forget all about that, Baby."

"Hey!" He sat up and whipped a pillow at her face. "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit, you stupid bitch!"

"Don't you dare throw something at me!" Grabbing the nearest breakable object, she hurled it at the wall, just above her husband's head. Then she remembered that Mike wasn't a gentleman like Drew. "Get away from me!" she screamed when he lunged for her, slamming her back against the wall.

"I just told you a kid your daughter's age got his head blown off this morning and you don't bat an eye?!" With one hand over his wife's mouth, he screamed, "How about some respect for the dead? They think the kid got killed over a bike! A bike!" Slamming her into the wall a second time he blasted, "You have **no idea** how much that pisses me off! When a boy gets a gift he should be able to keep it! But you don't care about anything I'm saying, do you?! Just like you don't care about your own kids, you self-absorbed bitch!"

Scared for her life, Lissa frantically said 'sorry' into her husband's sweaty palm.

"I can't hear you!" Mike clamped his hand tighter, enjoying the fear in Lissa's eyes. "You're all the same," he rasped as the painful memory consumed him. "She had no right to take my bike. I should have killed her that night. I shouldn't have…"

When her husband suddenly released her, Lissa gasped for air and fell to her knees, "I'm sorry." She sucked in oxygen. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinkin'."

"Sure you were…you were thinking of yourself." Watching her pant and clutch her stomach, Mike grumbled, "That's why you suck as a mother. You and Marlene both. You had kids so your husband would be happy to keep you around and pay your bills." As much as he wanted to kill her, he didn't, because he needed her. "Admit it, Lissa! Your kids are bargaining chips, nothing more."

"No, that's not true," she cried.

"But not as much as you love yourself, right?" Crouching in front of her, he screamed, "Don't lie to me! I see right through you! I see through everybody!"

Lissa nodded as her body shook. "You're right, you are…it's me first, but I love Cassie. I've tried to connect with Matt and Ashley, but I don't, I don't know what's wrong…it's so hard for me."

"Thank you for your honesty." The urge to kill her faded. "It's refreshing to hear the truth coming from a woman."

Meeting her husband's gaze for the first time since he released her, Lissa warily asked, "Who were you talkin' about? Who took your bike?"

"My mommy of course. There's a horrible mother behind every psycho, right?" Glaring at his wife, he shared, "You remind of her, and that's not good…not good at all. My mother got pregnant to trap my father, and then had my brother to be extra sure he'd stick around. He left anyway. I couldn't blame him, the woman was evil. One summer he stopped by with two new bikes…Benny and I rode them all day. We loved those bikes. The next day, she told us they were stolen from the front lawn and yelled at us for being irresponsible. She was lying to our faces. I saw her put them in the trunk of her car in the middle of the night."

"Why would she take them away?"

"To sell them," Mike coolly replied. "She kept us around so she didn't have to work. She sat on her fat ass collecting child support and alimony in the house my father paid for. Without us, she wouldn't have had an income."

"What happened to her?"

"She disappeared one day," he said with a smile. "Best day of my life. Benny and I went into foster care. We lucked out and got to stay together with a nice old couple."

"At least your mother didn't make you go out and work from the time you were three," Lissa replied while fearing it would set off her husband. "My mother collected money from my father, and then farmed me out to make more."

"Modeling?" Mike laughed. "What a hardship. It's not like she made you scrub floors like Cinderella."

"When I was thirteen, I told Mommy Dearest that a very well known photographer said my pictures wouldn't come out better until I dropped to my knees for him. I told her I was terrified. The next day, she gave me a tube of strawberry flavored gel, a few pointers, and a ride to the pig's studio. Her parting words were…without a cover shot, you're nothin'. Now go do what it takes to make it big. We need the cash." Her voice turning icy, she glared at the cold-blooded man before her. "The photographer got a BJ, I got my first cover, and Mommy Dearest got paid. For the record, I would have preferred her throwin'out my bike. Of course I didn't have a bike, because she couldn't have the revenue generator scrapin' a knee."

"Is that why you don't like to…"

"Do you enjoy ridin' a bike?" Bristling from the memory, Lissa shared, "That strawberry gel was the closest thing I'd had to dessert in ages. I was enjoyin' the sweetness on my tongue so much, that I actually forgot what I was doin'…until I was gaggin'. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let me."

"Jesus." After a minute of silence, Mike quietly said, "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you when I lost my temper. Seeing that kid today…I got a little crazy."

"Apology accepted," she anxiously replied as she stood. "I'm sorry for being insensitive. I promise to leave you alone."

"Hey." He took her hand. "Stay."

**DNA Lab **

**4:01 pm **

"Let's go already!" Greg watched the clock in between watching the news on the lab TV. "I can't wait for the new DNA technology to get to us."

"The Feds have had it long enough," Max replied. "Why won't they share?"

"They want to make sure it's foolproof. If we start convicting people with it and then a flaw is discovered, all the scum we put away using it, walk out the door."

Max pointed to the TV. "They're breaking in and flashing Jamal's picture every half hour hoping someone will come forward and ID the scum who killed him."

"No one was saying anything when I was out there." Greg refilled his coffee. "Thanks for making a fresh pot."

"Not a problem." Starting his next test, the DNA Tech asked, "Was it scary working in the hood?"

"After the drive by, I saw this guy…had to be six five and three hundred pounds of pure muscle. It took all my willpower not to pee in my pants when he barked 'what are you lookin' at?'."

"I think I'll stay in the lab. Scary muscular giants freak me out."

"Rightly so since you're five foot nine and one hundred percent geek."

"Okay, tough guy," Max laughed. "So you're an inch taller, but other than that…I don't think we're very different."

"Hey, I play BBall with cops. I'm a big time jock now." Greg could barely keep a straight face saying it. "Wanna see my bicep?"

"You better not, because you just got people to stop thinking you were gay. If you rip off your shirt for me, new rumors will start."

On cue, Hodges walked into the room. "I've got results."

Max burst out laughing, "Greg was just going to disrobe and show me his muscles."

"Tawny finally cut you off, huh? I guess Max really is the only single guy left around here, so that explains your choice in men." Snickering, Hodges flipped open his file. "The fiber you recovered from Jamal's jacket zipper was an exact match to the fibers from the strand that Brass picked up off the floor when Morris's ripped sweater sleeve caught on the door as he exited the interrogation room."

Before Greg could react, his DNA results popped out of the printer and he snatched them. "Your finding makes mine a little more interesting. The epithelials from Jamal's nail scrapings are from Morris." He pictured the scene in his head. Morris grabbed Jamal's backpack, leaving a print. Then he tried to take the bike. When Jamal wouldn't give it up, he reached for the boy's neck, catching the ripped sleeve in the jacket zipper."

"So Morris did it," Hodges stated.

"We have enough to get a warrant and test that sweater for GSR." Greg grabbed his phone. "I'll call Nick."

**Nick's Office **

**4:11 pm **

"Excuse me," Val stepped into her boss's office. "The Front Desk just called. A woman walked in saying she had information on the Jamal Jones case. I don't know how she ended up here, because on the news they're telling everyone to call the hotline and…"

Nick bolted from his desk, hoping for a break in the case. "Thanks!"

Val smiled, happy for a chance to do a little snooping.

Picking up the pace, Nick raced to the lobby. "Bonnie!" He flagged the receptionist. "Where's…"

Bonnie pointed to the far corner. "Big African American woman wearing the brown coat and sitting next to the little boy. Her name is Nessa Winston."

"Thanks." Nick hustled over to the haggard woman, who he estimated to be fifty years old. "Ma'am." He nodded. "I'm Nick Stokes of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I'm the Criminalist in charge of the Jamal Jones investigation. Do you have some pertinent information to share?"

"Yes," she replied in a barely audible whisper. "Actually, my grandson…"

"Oh." Nick crouched down and flashed a smile. "Hi, there. It's a little scary comin' to the police station, huh?"

The little boy nodded as he stared at the man on bended knee.

"Don't worry." Nick used his most soothing voice. "No one ever has to know you talked to me at all. I won't let anyone bother you. Are you scared?"

The grandmother brought a wad of tissues to her eyes.

The boy nodded again.

"Why are you scared?"

"'Cause Jamal's dead."

"I don't blame you, because that is scary, and sad. There's just no reason to be afraid of me though. I'm one of the good guys." Nick patted the boy's slumped shoulder. "Okay, then, I'm gonna ask you some easy questions first. What's your name?"

"Zavion Flint."

"Hey, that's a really cool name. How old are you, Zavion?"

"Six."

"Six, wow. You're a big guy for six." Since he was on a roll with the kid, Nick kept going and let the grandmother cry. "Do you play sports?"

"Hoops, just like my big brother."

"Me too!"

"You're kinda short."

"True, but I can jump real high and I can make three-pointers like nobody's business."

"I'm gonna play for the NBA when I grow up."

"I bet you will." Certain that he had calmed the boy, Nick asked, "Okay, Zavion…did you see Jamal this morning?"

"Uh huh."

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yep."

"What did you talk about?"

"His new bike."

Nick's sadness returned with a vengeance. "Jamal really liked that bike."

"Yeah, he's been ridin' it all over."

"Did anybody bother you when you were talkin' to Jamal this morning? Like a stranger, or a bad guy?"

"Nope."

"Did Jamal tell you if anyone was following him or…"

"Morris got in his face."

"You know Morris?" Nick's ears perked. "Was Jamal scared of Morris?"

"No. Morris is our friend. He shoots hoops with us and gives us Red Vines."

"So, Jamal wasn't scared of Morris this morning then?"

"No."

"Do you think Morris could have killed Jamal?"

Zavion shook his head.

"Do you know who did?" When the boy tensed, Nick reminded himself to go slow. "If you're afraid to say it out loud, you can whisper it in my ear. Would you rather whisper it?" Looking at the sobbing grandmother, he said, "Okay, Zavion, whisper the name in my ear then. Who killed Jamal?"

The little boy anxiously leaned in. "I did."

Nick gripped the chair's armrest so he wouldn't fall over.

"My grandma said I had to tell." Zavion lowered his head. "I wasn't gonna tell, but she caught me puttin' her gun back under the mattress."

"Uh…were you…were you and Jamal playin' with a gun and it went off by accident?" Nick asked, certain it was the sad truth. "Did you not know how a gun works?"

"No. My brother taught me how to shoot."

"You…are you sayin' that you shot the gun on purpose?" Staring at the little boy who had been innocently discussing basketball and licorice before confessing murder, Nick somberly asked, "Why?"

"I wanted the bike."

**Author's Notes: **

Now you know how Jamal was killed. As I was writing this chapter, my husband came home from work and told me a co-worker's 15 year old son had been shot and killed by another boy who was playing around with a gun. It's a sad fact that there are far too many kids with access to guns in the US. Look for the gang to be impacted by Zavion's revelation, and each deal with the situation in their own way, while all working together to make sure the community is helped and Jamal not forgotten.

I literally raced to the computer to post the chapter and then I'm rushing out the door to take my daughter somewhere. I have been able to reply to some people, but not everyone. Please know every comment is appreciated and motivating. I didn't want to rush and just say 'thanks', but then I ran out of time because I had to cover classes all week. I hope you'll keep reading, enjoying the story, and commenting :D Thanks for the kudos for KJT too!

Chapter 3 will post around Sunday 8pm MST because I'll be out that weekend, and not home until then :D

**THANK YOU!! **

**Maggs **


	3. Chapter 3

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 3**

**Tuesday, December 6, 2005 **

**The Blakes **

**4:24 pm **

"It was a great day, Mom." Alone in the kitchen with his mother, Sean stepped forward and hugged her tight. "Thank you for forcing me to try Trinity even though I was scared and didn't want to go."

Knowing hugs from teenage sons were a precious commodity, Wendy savored the embrace. "You're welcome, Honey." She welled up from the sound of her socially-challenged son's happy voice. "I'm so glad you had a good day and made lots of new friends. How was Ryan? Did he talk to you, or did he pretend he didn't know you?"

"He was great," Sean replied, enjoying the motherly love that he wasn't supposed to think was cool anymore. "But he made me swear I wouldn't tell you. He said he has a rep as an obnoxious, self-centered teenager to protect."

"I won't tell him you blew his cover."

Reluctantly moving out of his mother's arms, Sean said, "And don't worry, I know there will be some mean kids and bad days, but I'll be okay. I'm a lot tougher now than I was when I started Butterfield."

"I know you are, Sweetie." Wendy moved to the fridge. "I'll make us some soy-milk hot cocoa to celebrate. I experimented today and made some carob brownies that I think you'll really enjoy."

"Yum!" Sean settled in at the kitchen table to do his Trigonometry homework

"I'm back from the park!" Ryan set his muddy football on the counter. "It started raining."

"You have perfect timing." Wendy held up the unsweetened organic cocoa mix. "I'm making a treat. You can join us after you wash up."

**Dr. Libson's Office**

**4:31 pm **

After washing her hands, Becca wrapped a paper towel around her urine specimen container and walked over to open the small door cut into the wall of the private bathroom. "Hello! Lab people! In here!"

Cheryl Walker peered through the opening. "Ma'am, for future reference, it's okay to just place your container in the chute and leave. We check every few minutes, so you don't have to tell us."

"I know that," Becca confirmed. "I'm calling because I need you to get the doctor for me."

"Are you having an emergency?"

"Not a physical one. I just need to talk to her in private, before my husband and I go back for our ultrasound appointment."

Cheryl figured that was code for 'my baby's daddy isn't my husband and I don't know what to do. "The doc doesn't counsel patients through the urine chute, you'll have to ask your husband to wait outside for you and…"

"Tell her it's Becca Vartann. She knows I'm a head case."

Knowing her boss was the local expert on high risk pregnancies for mental patients, Cheryl didn't waste any time. "Oh, okay. Hold on a minute, I'll see if she can pop in here."

"Thanks!" Becca placed the sealed container in the chute and returned to the sink to wash her hands again.

"Becks…" Tony knocked on the door. "Is everything okay in there? You've been gone a while and a line is starting to form."

"I'm fine!" she replied in a sunny tone, not wanting to worry him. "I um…I think I need to add a little more fiber to my diet. Tell the other preggos that I'm sorry, but I'll be a few more minutes. Go read a magazine and don't worry."

"Okay, Sweetheart." He lowered his voice. "When we get home, I'll whip up a batch of my mom's high fiber bran muffins, they always help me out of a bind."

"Thanks, Honey."

"I'll be in the waiting area."

"Becca…" Dr. Libson quietly greeted the sweet patient she had received from her good friend, Dr. Sylvia Myers. "What's going on, Dear?" she asked through the hole in the wall. "Are you feeling okay?"

Crouching down, she replied, "I feel great, it's my husband who's having a bad day. There was a little boy murdered this morning and he responded to the call. There's a lot to it, but the bottom line is, he's really, really stressed out and heartbroken. I wanted to tell you before we got into the exam room, because if anything should be wrong, and I'm sure it won't be, but if it is…could you go out of your way to assure him it's not his fault. He already has so much on his mind, I…"

"I promise. I'll let the Tech know as well."

Becca broke into a smile. "Thank you."

"I'll see you shortly, Dear."

When she opened the restroom door, Becca wasn't surprised to find two irritated women. "Oh, get over yourselves. Like you've never been constipated." Rolling her eyes, she hurried into the waiting area, anxious to return to her husband's embrace. "I'm back."

"Feeling better now?"

"Much." She slid onto his lap. "Whatcha reading?"

"Nothing." Tony tossed the magazine. "I was just trying to take my mind off worrying."

"Here's something to occupy your mind. When I was waiting for you to finish praying, I had the perfect daydream."

"Did you have it before or after you asked Father O'Malley if nocturnal emissions were a mortal sin?" He still couldn't believe she had asked the sixty year old priest such a scandalous question.

"Before," she chuckled. "Hey, he said I could ask him anything!"

"Tell me about your daydream." Tony slipped his arm around his lovably wacky wife. "What was it about?"

"Bella's ninth birthday party."

"The party we're not planning yet, because it might jinx the pregnancy."

"I'm not planning it. I said I **daydreamed **it. I'm not responsible for what I dream." She winked. "If you don't believe me, just ask Father O'Malley."

"Right." He couldn't help falling a little harder for her. "Go on."

Snuggling close she shared the vivid details. "It was in our backyard. We had a ton of colorful balloons, a petting zoo, and there were horses to ride. Haleigh and Heidi Sanders were there as Bella's bestest friends. The Grissom's nine year old son, Owen was digging for bugs in the ground and being a total geek."

"You dreamed the Grissoms are having a boy?"

"No, Sara sent me a text!" she excitedly shared. "I can't believe I didn't tell you. They found out a few hours ago. It's a boy for sure."

"Wow. That's great." A smile claimed his mouth. "A boy…yeah, I can't picture Sara fussing over a girl. That's great news." He hoped he'd be getting more of the same momentarily. "Who else was at the party?" Tony asked, wanting to lose himself in the fantasy.

"Besides our son, Zack?" Becca adored her husband's reaction to hearing they had a boy too.

"Was Zack older or younger than Bella?"

"Hmm, that's funny, I don't know. How could I not know?" Winking she shared, "But I can tell you that he was an athletic, handsome guy just like his daddy. Nick and Carrie's nine year old adopted son, Kyle was there playing football with him. He seemed to be Zack's buddy."

"When did Nick and Carrie find out that Belinda is having a boy?"

"They didn't. I'm psychic, remember? That's not me being psycho, either. Hoj's grandmother was psychic, and she confirmed I have the gift."

"Right, right." Tony humored her. "What else did your crystal ball tell you, Madame Becks?"

Becca happily continued, "Also at the party were Mr. and Mrs. Stokes's eight year old daughter, Megan, their five year old son, Garrett, and their baby girl, Kelli. She was a miracle baby. Carrie was told she couldn't have anymore children after her second because her ovaries dried up. They conceived her when they stole a few moments together in a closet on during a Stokes family Christmas Eve gathering."

"Wow, you're a very detailed and nosy psychic." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "What about Drew and Marta? Were they living a happily ever after?" He felt so bad for the sad woman he had chatted with the day before when he was out running in the neighborhood.

"Totally! All of Drew's kids were at the party and Marta was pregnant with their **third**."

"Awesome."

"Everyone was having a great time," she dreamily informed her husband. "I was on cloud nine playing hostess and snapping pictures. My favorite photo was Bella on a horse with you standing at her side. It was a **perfect **day."

Closing his eyes, Tony quietly said, "I can picture it." Moments later, he was jolted back to reality.

"Mr. and Mrs. Vartann…" The nurse stood in the open doorway. "We'll do your exam first, and after that we'll move to the ultrasound room."

Standing up, Tony pushed out a stress-filled sigh. "By any chance, do they pass out drinks to the expectant fathers to soothe their nerves?"

**Dr. Myers's Office**

**4:41 pm **

"You seem jittery today, Lindsay," Sylvia stated once Catherine moved to the family-session privacy room. "Did something happen with your mother?" Things had been going so well, she was surprised.

"No," the confused teen grumbled, "for once it's not her stressing me out. It's Sean. He started going to Trinity today."

"Ah." The doctor settled into the chair across from her patient. "Was Sean uncomfortable around you because he knows you like another boy?"

"No!" Lindsay snapped. "And it was** so** annoying! He didn't even bat an eye when he bumped into Colin and me holding hands. It was his **first day** at Trinity and by last period, he had a girlfriend!"

Sylvia struggled not to smile. "Why does it bother you that he wasn't affected? And why do you care if he has a girlfriend, if you like Colin?"

"Because…" Lindsay slouched deeper into the comfy couch cushions. "I'm not jealous if that's what you think."

The doctor nodded, "Then what are you feeling?"

"Confused."

"I know I've said this to you before, but it's worth repeating. Romantic relationships are very confusing. That's why I encourage my teenage patients to hold off having them until they are emotionally ready. Perhaps this confusion you feel is a sign that you really shouldn't be in a relationship yet, Lindsay. You're fourteen, Dear. You'll have plenty of time to date and fall in love, so if it's too stressful, maybe you should wait. Focus on developing your own identity instead of being someone's girlfriend."

"But everyone my age is dating. Just today, I heard two girls in the bathroom talking about sex with their boyfriends! Everyone will think I'm a freak if I don't want to."

"I know peer pressure is awful, but contrary to what you read about in chat rooms, there's no shame in being an eighteen year old virgin."

"That's just something older people say to get kids not to have sex."

"While a few men may love an uninhibited girl who has been around the block with every boy in the neighborhood, most are put off."

"That's totally a double standard," the teen droned. "I think that's from your day, not now."

"It is a double standard, but it's quite true, even today. It's your choice, Lindsay. You can believe inexperienced teenagers, you can believe guys who will say anything to get in your pants, or you can believe me…a therapist who cares about your wellbeing and has been hearing men confess the truth in private for nearly thirty years. "

"My mom pays you, so how can I really trust you're not just saying what she tells you?"

The doctor smiled, "If I just wanted the money, wouldn't it be far easier to tell you what you wanted to hear rather than debate? It's not like your mother ever hears what I'm saying, right? If I really didn't care, I'd let you listen to your IPod while I caught up on paperwork and got paid by your mother."

Lindsay chuckled for a moment before countering again, "But Greg loves Tawny even though she was a stripper who slept around. Then again, he was a desperate geek, so I guess beggers can't be choosers, huh?"

"I can't discuss other patients." The doctor wished she could reply 'Too bad you weren't here the day Greg admitted that if Tawny hadn't gotten pregnant he would have dumped her because she was a stripper girl with a GED, not the kind of girl he could ever take home to his parents'.

"Okay, well…Warrick loves my mom even though she slept with half of Vegas and stripped."

"How many men and years did it take before your mother found a man as non-judgmental as Warrick?" Sylvia asked with a lilt in her voice. "Hmm? You've sat in that chair and said you were grateful that he didn't care your mother had a scandalous past, right? That tells me that you know most other men did. How many times has your mother told you that she felt used by men, because they loved taking her out for the evening, but never wanted to get serious? She said they only saw her as a party girl, not relationship or marriage material, right? She's not making that stuff up to scare you from having sex, Lindsay, she's trying to prevent you from feeling as used and abused as she did. While many parents joke about not wanting their little girls to ever have sex, no one really wants their child to go unloved. They just want to make sure it's with the right person at the right time."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Smiling, Sylvia shared, "Don't feel pressured to learn everything there is to know by the time you're sixteen. One of the great joys of a mature relationship is discovering new things together, like exploring a foreign country when they're on their honeymoon, or learning to cook Thai food, or trying out a new sexual move. Intimacy shouldn't feel stressful, it should be fun."

"Like when I was trapped behind a couch and subjected to hearing Carrie explore uncharted territory with Nick because we were in the house without them knowing."

"What?"

"It's a long story, but let's just say that Ryan, Sean, and me got to hear Carrie giving her first…you know, because we didn't want to embarrass them by popping out from behind the couch when they were naked and horny. Ugh, we had to listen to Nick guiding her through it and then the afterglow discussion. She was giggling and proud of herself for getting the job done right while he was on cloud nine. It was the most uncomfortable I've ever been in my life. She actually laughed and said 'it wasn't that bad, just like getting a little unexpected mouthful of salt water at the beach' and then when she was about to race off to the bathroom to clean up, we got to hear him coach her 'Darlin', you can't run off to brush your teeth before I pleasure you, because I'm a guy and we all fall asleep if left alone after we're spent. Just take a little swish of champagne and relax while I pleasure you'."

Sylvia covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

"I know you're laughing," Lindsay chuckled.

"Okay, yes, but that incident proves my point, right? Intimacy is fun and safe when it's between two mature people who love and respect each other. What makes it scary is not being able to trust the person you're with not to laugh at you when you move out of your comfort zone, or dump you the morning after. There are two kinds of unsafe sex, Dear…physically unsafe and mentally unsafe. How do you think Carrie would have felt if after she took that chance, Nick said 'wow, look at the time. I have to get up early in the morning, so I need to go. I'll call you tomorrow'?"

"Crappy."

"And how do you think she would have felt if he never called or spoke to her again?"

"Mega crappy."

By the look on her patient's face, the doctor knew her point had been made. "I have girls sitting in my office crying over that scenario all the time, Lindsay. If a boy doesn't want to take it slow or wait for you, then he's probably not a boy you should intimately trust."

The teen conceded with a nod.

"Here…" Sylvia reached for her candy jar. "For making it through my sex lecture without rolling your eyes, you deserve a treat."

**LVPD Interrogation Room B**

**4:46 pm**

"Zavion…here's that drink and snack just like I promised." Nick placed a small carton of milk and a package of Oreo cookies on the table for the boy and took a seat across the Social Services representative that had been called in to act as the child's advocate. "Ms. Tristan and I are gonna talk to you for a little while."

"Cool! I never get real Oreos!" The famished boy tore open the cookies, happy for the rare treat. "Where's my grandma?"

"She's in the next room waiting to answer some questions." Nick knew that Carrie, the DA, Ogden, Brass, and the Sheriff were standing behind the glass observing and discussing a plan of action. Jamal's death was considered a public relations nightmare for Burdick before Zavion's revelation, and now it was worse. "How did you know your grandmother had a gun?"

"One day, I seen her put it there…under the mattress."

Staring at the killer's milk mustache, Nick asked in a troubled voice, "Why did she keep it there?"

"In case my brother's old friends came to steal more stuff. They took our TV and VCR one time. They took the Razor scooter I got from the Salvation Army last year. She don't like my brother's friends. Me neither. Yesterday, my grandma was wavin' the gun and yellin' at 'em…'You come in my house again, I'll shoot all your asses!' When they left, she put the gun back under the mattress."

Nick glanced over at the advocate before asking, "Think real careful now…did your grandma ever talk to you about touching her gun?"

Zavion nodded. "She told me. 'If I'm not here and one of those crackheads come in here and touch our stuff, you don't be afraid to shoot them dead'."

Behind the glass, the Brass sighed, "Looks like Grannny's goin' down."

"She'll be a breeze to prosecute," the DA added. "Her fourteen year old grandson is in Juvenile Detention for nearly beating a tourist to death. She was his guardian at the time."

The Sheriff had a different opinion. "You go public with a grandma telling a six year old to shoot crackheads for breaking in, then it looks like the city is unsafe and overwrought with addicts turned thieves."

"But it is," Carrie snipped. "Nessa Winston wouldn't need to sleep with a gun under her mattress if she felt safe. If she didn't feel the need for the gun, then Jamal would still be alive."

"No, Ms. Blake," Burdick snapped back, "if she had let the police handle things, instead of taking the law into her own hands, Jamal would still be alive."

"I'm not disagreeing that the grandmother was negligent," Carrie retorted, "she should be charged with Child Endangerment for having an unattended loaded weapon and encouraging the boy to use it, as well as manslaughter for Jamal's death. But, I'm also saying that I think she was correct in believing she wasn't safe in her own home. She was trying to protect her child from crackheads, and we both know the cops would not be around to help her in the critical moment."

"Oh please," Burdick droned, "You're such a bleeding heart, Blake. Nessa Owens was protecting her welfare-funded flat-screen TV."

"How many TVs do you own, Sheriff?" Ogden posited. "Hmm?"

"Four."

"Exactly, and you live alone." Steve shook his head. "Why is it so wrong for Ms. Winston to want to protect the **one** that she has? That's what the defense will pitch, and every TV-Obsessed American will shudder to think of how horrible it would be to keep getting their Plasma stolen."

"How about we finish listening before we debate?" Carrie leaned against the glass and returned her gaze to the back of her fiancé's head.

"I didn't think he'd get dead," Zavion said while licking Oreo filling off the cookie in his small hand. "I just wanted to scare him real good. That's how my brother got lots of cool stuff."

"Oh yeah?" Nick held up a piece of paper. "This paper tells me that's also how you brother ended up in a Youth Detention Center. He was scaring a man by wavin' a gun and when the guy wouldn't hand over his wallet and laptop case, your brother started beating on him with the gun's handle."

"Yeah, my grandma was really mad about that."

"Tell me exactly what happened with the gun and Jamal."

"I pointed it." Zavion used his fingers to make a weapon. "I said 'Give me the Po-Po bike or I'll shoot!' He thought I was playin'. He said 'that's not a real gun. I said 'Is too!'" Sadly, the boy shared, "I was gonna shoot a tree to prove it, 'cause I seen that on TV, but…the gun shot Jamal."

"No, **you **shot Jamal," Nick harshly corrected.

"CSI Stokes," the child advocate shot a warning glare. "He's six. Watch your phrasing."

"Understood." Nick took a breath to calm down. "Zavion, what I mean is…guns don't shoot themselves, a person has to make the gun work. The safety wasn't on, so the second you put your finger on the trigger, it went off."

"What's a safety?" the boy queried.

"Somethin' your grandma should have been usin'," Nick replied in a deflated voice. "It's like a button that keeps the gun from goin' off accidentally when it's handled by someone who doesn't know what they're doing…like you."

"Oh."

"What did you do after you shot him?"

"Ran home to hide the gun."

Behind the glass, the Sheriff barked, "See! He knew he was guilty of murder! That little bastard shot his friend in the head and tried to get away with it. He's like Michael Myers in that Halloween movie…no conscience, just evil. If we don't lock him somewhere and throw away the key, he'll kill again."

"So, while your friend was alone bleedin' in the alley, you ran off because you were worried you'd get in trouble?" Nick glanced at the advocate before asking, "Zavion…why didn't you help your friend after you hurt him?"

"I didn't want my grandma to whoop my ass."

"So, it was more important to save yourself, than Jamal?"

"Yeah, my grandma's ass whoopin's hurt." In a puzzled tone the boy queried, "Why couldn't the doctors put Jamal back together like I seen 'em do to folks on my grandma's TV shows?"

"Jamal was hurt too badly. There wasn't a doctor anywhere who could have put him back together. He was that broken."

"Like Humpty Dumpty?"

Nick clutched his head as the insanity of the situation kept getting worse. "Yeah, just like Humpty Dumpty. Even the best doctors in the world can't put a brain back together when it's in pieces."

"Can God?" The boy picked up the last Oreo.

"I'm afraid not." Nick watched him savor the cookie. "God can't make Jamal come back to life on Earth. He can only take care of him in Heaven now."

"Are there Oreos in Heaven?"

"Tons," Nick answered, feeling worse than when he started questioning the kid. "And the milk to dunk 'em in is really cold."

"Dang." Zavion shook his head at the empty cookie package on the table. "I've got nothin', and Jamal is gettin' spoiled again."

"Seriously! Can you believe this friggin' kid!" the Sheriff yelled at the glass. "He's bitching because he's jealous that Jamal is eating Oreos in Heaven! Are we sure we can't try him as an adult?! Has there ever been a killer this young?"

"Yes," Carrie answered as her nausea over the situation doubled. "In Chicago, a six year old took a gun to school and shot a little girl after saying 'I don't like you'. The boy's guardian was charged with manslaughter because he failed to keep the weapon secure and created an 'atmosphere of reckless circumstances'. I think from what we've heard, the same applies to Zavion's grandmother and more, because she told him it was okay to kill his brother's friends and gave him permission to use the gun."

The DA nodded in agreement. "On top of that, we'll charge her with contributing to the gross delinquency of a minor."

"It's FUBAR." Watching Nick talk to the little boy, Jim shook his head, "Nessa Winston made her grandson come to the station and fess up without knowing she might be sending herself to prison for fifteen years. I wonder how she'll take that news?"

**Dr. Libson's Office**

**5:01 pm **

"We're ready for the news, Doc," Becca announced from the exam table where she was prepped and waiting. "We've obsessed, dreamed, and prayed all day, so slap a condom on that ultrasound wand and give it to me! The suspense is driving us bonkers."

Tony nodded. "What she said. Except…don't give the wand to me." Poised at his wife's side, he told the doctor, "We've reasoned that if something is wrong, it wasn't meant to be. Since we didn't even know we could conceive a baby at the time, we'll be upset, but we'll stay optimistic about conceiving again in the near future when we're better prepared. If everything is fine, it's an unexpected blessing and we'll be thrilled."

"That's a very healthy attitude." Dr. Libson knew all too well that many couples came in with the same outlook, only to crumble upon receiving devastating news. "Okay, Becca…just a little bit of pressure."

"It can't possibly be more pressure than I'm feeling mentally." Becca gripped her husband's hand.

"You're shaking." Tony stroked her hair.

"Yeah." As the doctor inserted the vaginal wand, Becca joked, "I'm always a little tense the first time I'm intimate with someone new."

"If you make me laugh, my hand shakes," the doctor warned while chuckling.

"That's a pretty crappy vibrator, Doc." Becca laughed again. "No swirling pearls or rabbit ears. Did you get it at Walmart?"

"Kiss your wife, Mr. Vartann, then she won't be able to talk or crack jokes."

"Actually, she talks non-stop during intimacy."

"Very true!"

After a lingering smooch, Tony whispered in Becca's ear, "I can't believe we're here doing this. I love you, Honey."

"Aww, you're getting misty."

"Mr. and Mrs. Vartann…" Staring at the screen, the doctor lied, "Please don't panic, it just takes me a minute to set up the measurements, okay? Talk amongst yourselves, I'll let you know when I'm ready." She wanted to be sure there wasn't a mistake, before she broke the news to the hopeful couple.

As her optimism began to falter, Becca quietly asked her obviously worried husband, "Guess what theme I'm using for the CSIs and Coroners in the BPAC fashion show?"

"Uh." Noting the doctor's tense expression, Tony anxiously replied, "I can't really think right now, Honey. Just tell me." He knew Becca was going to be devastated upon hearing the bad news he assumed was coming. Immediately, he began to think of ways to lift her spirits afterwards.

"The professional models will be **Corpse Brides**. Isn't that great?! I have Hoj, Nick, Warrick and Gil, as well as David Phillips and Doc Robbins. Do you know those last two? Nick got all of them to commit."

"Yeah. David is a real nice guy, and Doc has a great wry sense of humor." He reached into his pocket with his free hand to clutch his grandmother's rosary beads. _Nana Isabella, if you have any pull with God, or the power to grant prayers**, please** help us out here. Having a baby means the world to me, but it means even more to Becca. She's desperate to make me happy, and I don't want her to feel like she's let me down. I know I've disappointed you in the past, but I really, really love Becca and don't want to see her fall apart._

In between panicking that they were about to receive bad news, and begging God to grant Tony the baby he deserved, Becca rambled on about the fashion show, "We'll have the girls done up like they're dead, with wild hair and crazy makeup, but they'll be wearing normal bridal gowns. I want a crazy soundtrack playing with the CSI and morgue guys walking up to the mic and saying a line before their pose. Things like 'Love made her feel alive…until she died of a broken heart' or 'first she fell in love…and then she fell down the stairs'. Kind of like the cheesy fade outs they do on that show with the CSI people in Miami. Ugh, I can't stand the way that Caruso guy removes his glasses and says the stupid line like he's beyond cool. I know CSIs," she chuckled. "They're geeks." She patted her husband's pale cheek. "Honey?"

"Huh?" His heart racing, Tony watched the doctor's face for a hint of relief, but found none. "Yeah, that sounds great." He hadn't heard a word. "Dr. Libson, how much longer do you think…"

A quick knock on the door announced the entrance of an Ultrasound Tech. "Doctor, did you need me to assist?" After glancing at the screen, she exclaimed, "Another set of twins? Wow, that's the third set today. Are they putting fertility drugs in the water or what?"

Doctor Libson rushed her gaze to the unsuspecting expectant parents. "That's what was taking so long, I wanted to be sure."

"Oh! Oh my gosh!" The Tech covered her mouth. "I blurted! I'm such a blurter! I'm so sorry! I blurt the sex of babies out all the time and expectant parents hate me for it. I always say 'she' or 'he' instead of 'the baby'!" Tears formed in her eyes. "I stink. I really stink. I should quit, but I love babies, and I love my job. Dr. Libson, I'm **so sorry** that I blew another surprise. Should I quit?"

"Marnie." The doctor pointed to the door. "Take your career crisis to my office. I'll meet you there, thanks."

"T…twins?" Tony stuttered, unsure if he was daydreaming or hearing the truth. "You see twins?"

"Two perfectly healthy heartbeats." Smiling, the doctor turned the monitor and pointed to the labels flagging the two highlighted blips.

Becca rambled as she gaped at the screen, 'Baby Vartann A' and 'Baby Vartann B'. A and B. Two! Two babies. Wait…wait…Hoj and Tawny are having twins. How can we be having twins if they are having…duh! We can all have twins! Oh my God, we're having twins!" She gripped her stunned husband by his shirt collar. "We're having twins!"

"Are you sure, Doctor?" Tony warily asked, still not believing he really had heard the word ringing in his ears. "Because twins don't run in our families and…"

"No! Tony…oh my God," Becca interrupted as tears of relief, joy and gratitude spilled from her eyes, "That's not it. Don't you see what's happening here? **Two** babies, two babies to replace the two that we didn't get to keep…the pregnancy I terminated and your baby with Karina. It's karma. We've both earned second chances."

After silently screaming a Thank You to his Nana Isabella, Tony cupped Becca's cheeks. "You say a lot of crazy things, Honey, but this time…I desperately want to believe you're right."

"Believe it."

After a horrible morning that included informing a childless couple that their twenty-one week old fetus had died in the womb, Dr. Libson needed the bliss as much as the Vartanns. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Tony choked out as uncharacteristic tears fell from his eyes for a second time that day.

"That's why Zack looked to be the same age as Bella in my vision." Becca's giddiness doubled. "They're twins! That totally explains why there was a cake covered in footballs. I thought maybe our little girl was little butch. Maybe she'll be into shoe shopping after all!"

"I think I better sit." Clutching Becca's hand, Tony dropped into a chair. "I feel faint."

"Hoj is totally going to say I copied him," Becca laughed as she cried. "Hey! Maybe our twins will be boys and they'll grow up and marry the Sanders girls!"

"Let's not get carried away," the shocked father-to-be grounded his compulsive wife. "Let's get through the pregnancy first, okay, Honey?"

"**Very** good advice, Dad." The doctor handed over two sets of pictures. "Your official due date is July 19th, but we always expect twins to be a little early."

**Crime Lab – Break Room**

**5:24 pm **

"Tawny!" Greg raced over to the couch where his wife was reclined and panicking that she was going into labor. "What's wrong?! What happened?!"

Holding her abdomen, she tearfully explained, "I've been kind of achy all day, but I thought it was just stretching. Then I started to have these gripping pains and my back hurt. I told Maria. She has two kids. She said it could be premature labor and told me to go to the ER right away." When Greg wrapped his arms around her, she squeaked, "I'm really scared."

"I'm sure it's nothing," he replied, without letting his fear show. "We'll go get you checked out just to be safe."

"But you're working Jamal's case."

Helping his terrified wife to her feet, Greg calmly said, "Nothing's more important than my family."

"What's goin' on?" Nick queried from the door. One look at Tawny, and he knew she was upset.

"She's having weird pains, so I need to get her to the hospital to make sure everything is okay."

"Take all the time you need," Nick replied while reliving the stress of losing his first child. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Don't tell Carrie." Tawny wiped her tears. "I don't want to bring back the sad memories of…"

"Yeah, thanks, I won't say anything."

"I'll call you." Greg whisked his wife down the hall. "I'm sure it's nothing!"

"What's going on?" Sara asked when she saw her friends' panicked expressions.

"I have cramps." Tawny's tears reactivated. "Bad ones."

"Uh…" The statement rocked Sara to the core. "Stretching is normal." She followed them as they hurried for the exit. "The books all say…"

"No, it's definitely cramps."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Greg restated, for what felt like the hundredth time. "Sara, I have a bunch of stuff signed out and in the layout room. Could you…"

"Of course." Her hands mindlessly caressed her belly. "I'll get right on it." She stopped and watched her friends rush out the door. "Call me!"

**The Vartanns' Ferrari**

**5:31 pm **

"Ma!" Tony yelled into his cell. He had asked Becca to drive so he didn't have to delay sharing the news with his anxious mother.

"Did you have the ultrasound?" Marge shrieked into the phone.

"We just…"

"I've been praying for you all day."

"Thanks, Ma. It…"

"Is it healthy?!"

"Actually, it is…"

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Just tell me already, Anthony!"

"I'm trying to, but you keep interrupting!" His joy overflowing, Tony said, "There are no health concerns, Ma."

"Oh, thank God."

Knowing his mother was in San Diego taking care of Sierra while Reggie worked and Gina was recovering in a the best Psychiatric Center his and Becca's money could fund, he asked, "Are you holding Sierra?"

"No, she's napping, why?"

"Because I didn't want you to drop her when I shocked the hell out of you. Becks and I…we're having twins."

"Twins!"

Becca laughed when she heard her mother-in-law shrieking and thanking God. "But is she happy for us?"

"I'm thinkin' so, yeah." Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw a boy riding his bicycle on the side of the street. His thoughts returned to Jamal. "It's been a hell of a day, Ma. That little boy I saved…he was shot and killed this morning. I had no idea it was him when I responded to the call."

"Oh, Anthony." Marge's tone showed her love. "I know you said you were helping him and his mother. That had to be awful."

"Yeah," he sighed into the phone, "it hurt like hell."

**Desert Palms Hospital **

**5:45 pm **

"Does it still hurt?" Greg asked while rhythmically stroking Tawny's mussed hair. Upon arriving in the ER, they were promptly sent to the Obstetrics Ward and placed in an antepartum observation room.

"Yes." Lying on her side in a hospital bed, she couldn't stop shaking. "It's getting worse actually." She turned to the doctor who was reviewing the paper strip streaming out of the fetal monitor. "What do you see?"

"I'll tell you after you take a nice deep breath for me." As the patient did as requested, Dr. Simon broke the news, "The babies are doing great. Their heart rates are fine. That's the good news. Unfortunately, you are having steady contractions."

"Seriously?" Greg had done such a wonderful job convincing himself it was a false alarm, he couldn't believe it. "But she's only twenty-six weeks."

"I don't want to lose the babies." Tears shot from Tawny's eyes. "We've come so far, I can't…"

"Tawny." The doctor grabbed her patient's hand, squeezing it in between hers. "Your cervix hasn't changed at all, which means there's an excellent chance we can stop the contractions and the pregnancy will continue along just fine, but you have to calm down and stay optimistic, okay?" She turned to the father. "Your job is to help her do that with soothing words and actions. I'll be right back to start treatment."

"Got it." Greg sat on the edge of the bed so he could gently caress his wife's back. "Focus on the positive, Princess."

"You haven't called me Princess since…the Drew incident," she cried from the heart. "I miss you calling me Princess. I miss it. I don't want to lose the babies."

"Shh…shh. I love you, Princess," he assured, locking his eyes on hers. "The babies are healthy, your cervix hasn't changed, and the doctor said it's possible to stop labor. Think about that stuff, not the worst case scenario. You're not a worst-case kind of girl. Breathe with me, nice and slow. Good, another one just like that." He rested his forehead on hers. "We've come all this way, so there's no way in hell that I'm giving up now and you can't either. We're a team here. Stay positive with me, please."

"I promise to try," she squeaked between gulps of air.

"Okay, Tawny." The doctor and two nurses invaded the room. "Sheila is going to start an IV so we can get you hydrated. Monica will be giving you a shot of Terbutaline to stop your contractions. We start with one, if that doesn't do the trick, I'll repeat it two more times. If there's no change, we'll start you on a stronger medication." She waited for the nurse to administer the shot before resuming the briefing. "That will make you very jittery, so don't panic, that's the normal reaction."

"You're very brave." Greg kissed his wife's cheek. "I hate needles."

"Whatever they need to do, I can take it." Tawny sucked in a breath. "Anything to save our girls."

"Moving on to our next injection," the doctor continued. "This is a steroid shot to help speed up the babies' lung maturity just in case we can't stop labor. It's precautionary, but we have an excellent chance at stopping labor."

"Okay." Tawny closed her eyes and braced for the next poke.

"Great job." The doctor signaled the nurse to complete the IV. "Your urine sample showed you were dehydrated. Dehydration is sometimes a contributing factor for preterm labor."

"We were so busy at work today, and I forgot to take care of myself." Feeling horrible, Tawny groveled, "I promise to drink more and take more breaks at work to…"

"You won't be returning to work until after maternity leave."

"What?"

"Sorry." Dr. Simon shook her head. "You're having serious contractions and you're carrying twins. If they stop quickly, I'll put you on oral mediation and partial bedrest, if it takes any length of time, you'll be on full best rest with continuous medication." Placing a hand on the expectant father's shoulder, she broke the news. "Either way, except for kisses and hugs, she's officially off limits. That includes asking her to exert herself to help you out, if you catch my drift."

"Don't worry, Doc," Greg laughed, "I'm an expert in that arena. I exclusively dated myself for years."

**Grissom's Office**

**6:17 pm **

Alone in his office, Gil digested the upsetting news about Tawny and found himself worrying about the future again.

A life of solitude had been much simpler, and while family and friends brought great joy, they also brought a steady dose of angst. In stressful times like these, he understood his mother's decision to live a life of seclusion and not remarry. Not that he would change a thing about his life, but he could easily empathize.

"Gris…" Nick waited for his coworker to glance up before walking into the office. "I just finished up at the Morgue with Tanisha. Doc released the body too. Carrie just went with the DA and Jim to the Sheriff. They're discussing what to do about the PR nightmare."

**The Vartanns' Ferrari**

**6:20 pm **

"Tony…" Becca couldn't believe what she saw across the street from her house when she turned the corner. "There's a news van from Channel 18 and a crowd forming in…"

"Holy Shit." Grabbing the garage remote, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Just pull in and I'll shut the door."

"There he is!" Morris yelled and waved the crew. "In a friggin' Ferrari Spider. Can you say dirty cop?!"

"Lieutenant Vartann!" a news reporter yelled while running for the sports car.

"It's the guy from the scene I told you about, Becks." Tony eyed the bastard with contempt. "I'm sure he called the news crew out here. He called them to the murder scene this morning. Son of a bitch!"

"You're not talking to them," Becca stated, certain her husband would haul off and punch the creep who had accused him of indirectly causing Jamal's death.

"No." Once parked inside the garage, Tony hurried out of the car. "I'll call the department's Public Information Officer. She'll come out here and handle everything. She'll probably have me make a statement. Not that anything I say will help. They're determined to blame us for giving Jamal the bike."

"I have an idea!" Becca rushed into the house. "A great idea!"

"Uh, Becks…"

"Trust me!"

**Mike and Lissa's **

**6:30 pm **

"How do I know you didn't poison this champagne?" Lissa giggled as she cozied up to her supposedly evil husband in bed. "Hmm?"

"You don't," he rasped while running his mouth over his wife's heated body. "But why would I want to off my soulmate?"

Choking on the bubbly, she replied, "Is that what you think I am?"

Glancing up from Lissa's belly button, Mike flashed a saintly smile. "We both had mentally abusive and neglectful mothers who drove us to do some things we're not proud of over the years, right?"

"Very true." She set her glass on the nightstand. "We're both loathed by the Stokes family even though you saved Nicky's life and I birthed the heir to the Stokes throne."

"What a bunch of ingrates those Texans are, huh?" Moving a fingertip over Lissa's c-section scar, he huffed, "To not let you see your own children after carrying them for nine months and being cut open to deliver them."

"Only Claire, the other two were regular births. I was sooooo pissed off when they told me she wouldn't turn. I wanted to try deliverin' breech, but the doctor knew Drew's father was on the Supreme Court of Texas and was too damn worried we'd sue if somethin' went wrong." She pouted, "They cut my perfect body."

"You can still wear a bikini and not see it."

"It totally ruins the effect of my Brazillian, doesn't it?"

"Trust me, a little scar does not distract men from enjoying the goods in **any** way."

"I guess it was all those childhood years spent obsessing over my image thanks to Mommy Dearest." She shrugged. "I had a hard time gettin' over it."

"From the look on your face, I'd say you're still upset about it."

In a vulnerable voice, she said, "You really do see everything in people, don't you?"

"Every superhero has a special power or two. Get ready Lissa…I'm going to worship this scar on your body and the rest of you. Don't worry about reciprocity either. Now that I know your traumatic history, I won't be asking you to drop to your knees ever again."

"Really?"

"I promise," he answered before caressing the edge of her scar with his lips.

With a smile on her face, Lissa relaxed against the inferior bedding that she would be replacing with the five grand her husband had agreed to spend on redecorating their bedroom. _I almost feel bad about tellin' you that bullshit story about my Mama forcin' me to do the photographer. She didn't even know! It was all my idea, because I deserved a damn cover shot and I was tired of Blair Conroy's photos comin' out better than mine. Men are so easily manipulated._ "Ohhhh…that's soooooo good," Lissa remarked, enjoying the perks of her lies. "You're so good to me, Baby. I'm dizzy from the lovin'!"

Mike struggled not to laugh at the woman who obviously thought he'd bought her bullshit story. _You can't con a Con Artist, Sweetheart! But I give you credit for trying. By the way, it's not the lovin' making you dizzy. I wanted some peace and quiet and you never shut up, so I drugged you. _

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**6:43 pm **

"The drugs aren't working," Tawny grabbed Greg's arm when another contraction came. "It's not stopping, it's getting worse!" The medication had her whole body shaking and her mind and heart racing. "Can't you do something else?!"

Greg felt himself sliding into panic with his wife. "Did you hear her, Doctor? It's getting worse, not better."

"I'm sorry." Snapping off her latex gloves, the doctor said, "There's been a slight change in your cervix too. We're going to step things up right now and start you on the Magnesium Sulfate to relax the muscles of your uterus."

The nurse hurried off to get the necessary supplies.

With Tawny crying in his arms, Greg frantically asked questions, "Do you think it will work? How long will it take to know if it will work? If it doesn't work and she delivers, what are the odds of the girls surviving at twenty-six weeks?"

"There is an excellent chance it will work. I've seen it work on women who were far worse off, okay? We'll give a very large dose at first," she explained directly to the patient. "After that, you'll be given a dose every hour. Sometimes we have success in a few hours, sometimes it takes twenty-four, there's no way of knowing. I know it's difficult under the circumstances, but you have to try to stay calm and optimistic. If we're unable to stop it, we have the highest level NICU here at Desert Palms and a medical team will be at the ready. Ideally, we want to delay labor for a minimum of forty-eight hours, so the steroids have a chance to work on the babies' lungs. Even if we can't, we've had many sets of twins born prematurely at twenty-six weeks and while it's not easy, and a lengthy hospitalization is required, many of them left the hospital without issue or minimal issues. Most survive, but some have serious medical concerns like Cerebral Palsy. Right now, we're going to stay one hundred percent optimistic that your labor will stop. Use the power of positive thinking."

"We will." Greg wiped his wife's tears.

Tawny gave a slight nod.

"I'll be honest, Magnesium Sulfate is not fun initially," the doctor candidly told the frantic couple. "Some women are able to tolerate it better than others as time passes. It can make you nauseous, dizzy, lethargic, and disoriented. Your vision may be impacted, a lot of women say it feels like their eyes are crossed and they can't focus on anything. Your muscles and body might feel heavy and hard to move. Greg, she's going to need you to support her through this."

"Absolutely." He forced the urge to panic down to his toes. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm here!" Scott rushed into the room. "I'm here!" Panting, he asked, "What's the latest? Has it stopped?"

**The Vartanns **

**7:41 pm **

"We're ready to begin," Susan Troy, the Public Information Officer, announced when she entered the couple's living room. "Lieutenant Vartann, the Sheriff requested that we not open for questions after your statement."

"Fine by me." Tony grabbed his suit jacket. "The less I have to say, the better." He paused to embrace Becca. Thank you for doing this, not just for Jamal, but for me."

"You're very welcome." She reluctantly slipped out of her husband's arms. "It's good karma to pay it forward."

"Okay, lovebirds." Susan opened the front door. "We need to get this show on the road. Hold hands on the way out, and then stand to the left of me until I introduce you to speak. Lieutenant, you'll step up to the podium while your wife stands at your side looking supportive."

Becca smiled, That will be the easiest job I've ever had."

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**7:45 pm **

"You're one tough Princess," Greg soothed his wife, as he wiped her face with a cool rag. "And a very neat vomiter. Not a drop outside the bowl."

Standing on the opposite side of the bed, Scott joined in the pep rally. "And she's a very quiet vomiter too."

Appreciating the effort, Tawny pushed out a smile. "Surrounded by Sanders men…I'm a lucky girl too."

Watching Tawny struggle through the treatment, Greg's eyes welled, "And I couldn't ask for a better wife."

**The Vartanns **

**7:50 pm **

Releasing his loving wife's hand, Tony stepped to the podium. "To say I was devastated by the news of Jamal's murder is a gross understatement. In a very short time, my wife and I have come to know that wonderful little boy and his mother, Tanisha, quite well. On Sunday, we spent time at their home, and we're grateful that we had the chance to hear Jamal laugh and see him enjoy the bicycle he had received from the Las Vegas Police Department. This morning, someone told me it was my fault Jamal was killed. That the bicycle he was given made him a target. We know now that the bicycle was the reason for the altercation between Jamal and his young killer. I, along with many others, was deeply troubled and saddened by the news. We tossed around many questions. What kind of a world do we live in when a boy can't ride a bike without fearing for his life? What makes a child so desperate that he would point a gun to get a bike for himself? What can we do to help? That last question was answered by my wife, Rebecca Vartann." He paused to smile at the woman standing to his left. "I heard that someone in the crowd accused me of being a dirty cop because I arrived home in a Ferrari. I know he'll be grossly disappointed to hear that I didn't buy it with blood money, but rather, it was a gift from my financially endowed wife, who also bought this home I'm standing in front of today. I've taken a good deal of ribbing for marrying a woman with a much bigger bank account than me, and it's been hard for an old-fashioned guy like me at times, but not today." Lifting a check, he announced, "At six o'clock tonight, my wife suggested we open a community center and generously offered to personally fund the project. I am proud to announce that The Jamal Jones Community Center is officially underway. It will be a division of BPAC, a charitable organization founded by two of LVPD's finest CSIs, Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes."

As photographers snapped photos of Tony holding the check, Becca beamed a smile at her husband.

"It is our hope that this Community Center will provide a positive, safe environment for children in Jamal's neighborhood, and ultimately prevent tragedies like the one we unfortunately had to experience today. Jamal's mother, Tanisha, has blessed this plan and permitted us to use her son's name. The Sheriff has pledged that members of LVPD will be encouraged and rewarded for volunteering their time the Center. LVPD certainly hopes that our involvement will strengthen our relationship with the community. More information on the project will follow in the coming weeks. I'd now like to ask the media to let everyone who knew Jamal grieve and heal in privacy, thank you."

Becca's hand was waiting for her husband to grab it. "Nicely done."

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**9:15 pm **

"You're doing great, Princess" Greg tenderly stroked his wife's hair.

"Any change?" Tawny whimpered with her eyes clamped shut. "It feels…maybe it's stopping?"

Looking at his worried father, he answered, "I think it is." There had been no change. "Just keep your eyes closed and rest."

Weak from the harsh, but necessary, medical treatment, she could barely push out an 'okay'.

Watching the monitor, Greg winced as another contraction began. "I love you, Princess." He bit back his tears. "The babies will be fine. You'll see."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Maggs


	4. Chapter 4

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 4**

**Tuesday, December 6, 2005 **

**Crime Lab – Nick's Office**

**10:03 pm **

"Nicky…" Carrie raced into her fiancé's office and shut the door. When he looked up, she anxiously asked, "Why didn't you tell me that Tawny went to the hospital? When I was leaving Jim's office, I heard two people talking about her in the hall. I don't want to hear from strangers that one of my best friends going into pre-term labor."

Lifting his eyes from the mound of paperwork on his desk, Nick quietly replied, "Sorry, Sweetheart, but Tawny asked me not to tell you until they knew more, because she didn't want to bring back bad memories of losin' our baby."

"Oh." She dropped into a guest chair. "That was really sweet of her to think of me when she was under duress."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing."

"I called Greg, but he didn't answer."

"I left two voicemails." Holding up his empty coffee mug, he redirected his fiancée's thoughts, "Hey, how about I take you across the street for one of those frou-frou coffees you love so much?"

"I could use the caffeine before I head home and start working." She jumped to her feet. "How late are you working tonight?"

"I was gonna try and make it 'til one, because I have a lot to catch up on before our three-day birthday weekend."

"One birthday hint."

"One kiss at Starbucks and I might be persuaded to drop a clue or two." Winking, he opened the door for her.

"Then I'll definitely be puckering up." Walking down the hall at Nick's side, Carrie asked, "Even though I'm not supposed to know she's there, I really want to stop at the hospital and check on Tawny."

**Desert Palms Hospital **

**10:14 pm **

"Thanks for stopping by." Standing in the hall outside Tawny's room, Scott Sanders hugged Becca. "Things haven't gotten worse, but they haven't improved either."

"I'm sure things will change for the better any minute now."

"Greg really needs to take five, but he won't leave the room. I thought if you were here, he might go for a walk with you. Hang out here while I try to convince him, okay?"

"Of course." Upon receiving Scott's frantic call, Becca had left Drew's, where she and Tony had been discussing The Jamal Jones Community Center. Although her husband wanted to accompany her, Becca asked him to stay behind, because she didn't want Greg to feel pressured to stay tough.

"Hey, thanks for coming, Becks." Greg cleared his throat. "Where's Tony?"

"I told him I wanted to come alone."

A sigh of relief later, Greg said, "So, uh…my dad said he gave you all the details."

"Everything will be fine, the babies are going to be perfectly healthy."

"We don't know that yet."

"I do." She clasped his hand. "Do you remember how your psychic grandmother said I too had the gift?"

"Uh," running his fingers through his unkempt hair, Greg replied, "You mean that time we were at her house going through my grandfather's old stuff?"

"Right!" Becca threw her arms around him. "Today I had a vision, the most wonderful, marvelous vision! It was Bella's ninth birthday, and Haleigh and Heidi were there looking vibrant and beautiful."

"Becks..." He was too drained to cope with his friend's hysteria. "Sorry, it's just that I'm exhausted and…"

"You don't believe me." She stepped out of the embrace. "I'm serious, Hoj! I saw the future."

"Did you stop your meds again?"

"No!" She dropped her hands on his shoulders, giving him a shake. "I have proof! I was telling Tony about my vision while we were waiting to be called back for our ultrasound. I also saw that I had a son, Zack. He asked me 'How old was Zack?' You know, he wanted to know if we had the boy or the girl first." She tossed her arms in the air. "I said 'That's funny, I don't know. Zack seemed the same size as Bella and his best buddy was nine year old Kyle Stokes'. I didn't think anything of it, but when we had our ultrasound, we found out we're having **twins**!"

"Really?" For a moment, Greg got caught up in his friend's glee and forgot his problems. "Congrats."

"Don't you get it?! In my vision, Bella and Zack looked the same age, because they are the same age. They're twins and I have a psychic gift. I didn't **curse** Marlene to get hit by a bus or die at the banquet, that was just me seeing the future without knowing I was seeing the future. I said those things because in my mind, I** knew** they were going to happen." With a smile she added, "Apparently, I'm a blurting psychic."

"I…"

"Haleigh and Heidi will be alive and well at Bella and Zack's ninth birthday bash. They're going to take turns riding Bella's new horse, Barnum, and later on, they're going to bicker over who picked out the better gift. I hear them arguing in my head, Hoj, I swear. It's not just wishful thinking, it's me embracing the gift your grandmother saw in me. Please, you have to believe me."

"Well…" In need of a straw to grasp, Greg embraced the idea. "My Nana Olaf did predict I'd get a stripper pregnant if I moved to Vegas, so why shouldn't I believe what she said about you, right?"

"Exactly!"

"Why is Bella's horse named Barnum?" he asked, intrigued by the level of detail in Becca's supposed vision.

"Because she loves the circus. Tony took her when she was three and has every year since." Becca's hands flew to her mouth. "That just rolled off my tongue. Oh, Hoj…I'm so totally psychic."

"I believe you, Becks." Hugging her tight, he closed his eyes and grasped the straw a little tighter. "What color eyes do my little girls have?"

"Beautiful brown ones, just like their daddy. They have Tawny's hair and petite build, but your adorable smile. I hope my babies have their daddy's sweet smile," she chuckled, "but my nose."

"I don't blame you there." Greg released her. "I can't believe you're having twins too."

"They're our second chance babies," she sighed. "The one I didn't get to have in college, and the one that died when Tony's high school girlfriend was murdered. Oops, you never heard that part about Tony's girlfriend, that's a big time secret."

"You're a blurting psychic and a blurting wife."

Clutching Greg's hand, Becca enthusiastically suggested, "How about I buy you a drink in the cafeteria and tell you the rest of my vision?"

Soothed by his friend's presence, he nodded, "I hope they have tequila shooters."

"Considering how spent you look, one drink and I'm sure you'd pass out cold."

**Mike and Lissa's **

**10:22 pm **

With his wife knocked out in bed next to him, Mike swallowed his Percoset and fluffed a pillow. "Finally some friggin' peace and quiet." Glancing over at Lissa's naked body, he grinned. "Looks like I got the dosing right. You stayed conscious just long enough to ride me into ecstasy, and then you graciously passed out. Married life doesn't get better than that."

Flicking on the TV, the happy husband asked his drugged wife, "If it's alright with you, Lissa Dear, I'm going to watch a little porn. Oh, and don't worry, if I get a little wound up, I'll just help myself to your body. I'm looking forward to doing you when you're unconscious, because I won't have to listen to you. No offense, but your bedroom noises are as awful as your technique." As he stood, Mike smacked his wife's naked ass. "The Texan must have gotten off on banging a supermodel, because you suck at sex. Actually, I guess 'don't suck' is more accurate." Walking to retrieve a DVD from his hardcore collection, he sighed, "Poor ol' rich Drew."

**Drew's Home Office**

**10:26 pm **

"Do you think she'll like the ring?" Drew asked Tony as he returned the Tiffany box to his wall safe. "It only cost ten grand, and I don't want her to think I'm cheap, but it seemed right for her."

"She's gonna love it, and your proposal idea is great too." They were on a break from discussing the Community Center and obsessing over the day's tragedy. "I'll never forget the look on Becca's face when she saw hers. I had the bellman deliver a vase of red roses to our hotel room in San Diego. The box was hidden in between stems. With all her money, I thought that getting a diamond ring wouldn't be that exciting, but she went nuts."

"Isn't it hard bein' married to someone with more money than you? I know I'd hate it." Drew pulled two beers from the small fridge in the corner of his office. "Your wife just wrote BPAC a check for three million dollars and you make what…seventy, eighty grand a year?"

"Eighty-five, thank you very much." Tony rolled his eyes while accepting the Heineken. "Not everyone measures their worth by salary alone, but to answer your tacky question…it's been difficult, particularly with my brothers, because they don't have a lot of cash and suddenly I'm driving a Ferrari Spider and living in a McMansion." After a swig, he shared, "Until this evening, I had no idea how wealthy Becks actually was. She told me she was worth ten mil. Ten mil intimidated the hell out of me, but I love her, and I was getting comfortable with it. I lied to my family though, I told them she was worth four. Four made them squirm, so thank Christ I didn't tell them ten."

"How much is she really worth?" Drew asked as he kicked up his feet on the desk.

"Thirty-eight."

"Noooo. Seriously?"

"Yep." Tony gulped down half a bottle before explaining, "She told me about her money from the divorce, her trust fund, and her earnings from working and investments, but didn't mention that she was the sole heir to her grandfather's fortune. Her ex-husband never knew either. She didn't tell him, because she didn't trust him. She didn't tell me, because she was afraid it would scare me off, which it definitely would have. Greg knew, but he didn't tell me. The money's hidden, how ever you rich people do that…special accounts, overseas, I don't know."

"So it's not in your pre-nup then?"

"We don't have a pre-nup."

"Holy hell," Drew's laughter filled the room. "We all know your wife is a little crazy, but damn. She's lucky you're an honest guy."

"Are you going to make Marta sign a pre-nup?"

Drew instantly sobered. "My lawyer wants me to. He already drafted the damn thing. I've been obsessing over it since he delivered it this morning."

"Don't you think she'll be offended?"

"Would you have married Becca if she made you sign a pre-nup?"

"No," Tony answered after his latest sip. "It would have made it feel like a business transaction."

Drew couldn't resist, "As opposed to spontaneous insanity."

"As opposed to being romantic, asshole." A smile blooming on Tony's face, he said, "No matter how crazy our wedding night was, Becks and I can look back and say it was about two people taking the plunge because they felt undeniable chemistry and wanted to spend the rest of their lives making each other happy. If you make Marta sign a pre-nup, the two of you won't be able to look back and say the same. You'll know you entered into marriage with a plan in place for when it ended. That's incredibly unromantic."

"If I hadn't had a pre-nup with Lissa, my kids would be livin' under a murderer's roof half the time and she'd have half my assets. That's incredibly scary, so…"

"Hey, if you believe Marta is no better than Lissa, then why the hell are you marrying her, man?"

"That's a very good point." Drew smirked. "I said my lawyer wants me to have her sign it." He reached into his desk drawer, retrieved the document and ripped it in four pieces. "I'm goin' balls out this time around."

"Good choice." Tony raised his beer. "What better motivation is there to make your marriage work than to know you'll lose millions, right? Maybe that'll force you to take it seriously and not run around town banging twenty-one year old strippers." He laughed, "That was in retaliation for asking me how much I make."

Returning the laughter, Drew grabbed his beer. "Yeah, I deserved that."

"I'm a seasoned Detective, remember? I can read people. Marta's not a player."

The fiancé-to-be breathed a little easier. "Thanks, I feel much better after talking this through with you."

"Glad I could help." Tony shrugged. "Then again, I didn't know my sister-in-law was secretly in love with me, so when it comes to women…what the hell do I know?"

**Desert Palms Hospital – Ante Partum Room **

**10:51 pm **

"We don't know if the labor will stop," Scott whispered to Carrie at the door to Tawny's room. "Magnesium is nasty. She's weak and her vision is blurred, but I know she'll be happy you're here for her." He stepped to the side. "Tawny, you have a visitor. I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and come right back."

"It's Carrie, Sweetie." The worried friend walked to the edge of the bed and took Tawny's limp hand.

"I didn't…"

"I know. Nicky didn't tell me, I overheard some women when I was at the lab. Thank you for thinking of me, but please…I'm tough and I want to be here to support you, okay?"

"Thank you." When she opened her eyes, Tawny immediately got dizzy and snapped them shut. "Greg's with Becca. He's so worried."

"Because he loves you." Carrie stroked her friend's hair. "It's hard to see someone you love suffering in the hospital."

"I'm scared." Tawny smacked her dry lips. "All this way to lose them."

Knowing first hand that all pregnancies didn't have happy endings, it was hard to feel positive, but Carrie forced a sunny tone. "The doctors here know what they're doing. They'll be able to stop labor."

"I don't deserve babies," Tawny rambled. "You do. Not me. I'm a terrible person. I was trying to trap him."

"Oh, Honey…that's just the medication making you say crazy things." Carrie sweetly chuckled, "No offense, but Greg's not the type of guy a girl tries to trap."

"No…Drew, I was trying to trap Drew." Tears slipped from Tawny's closed eyes. "That's why I was off the pill in July when I slept with Greg. Drew didn't know what he was doing at the party because I had my friend doctor his drink. He never would have had unprotected sex if…I'm such a bad person, Carrie. Greg told me he had a trust fund. I was so desperate, I had sex with a stranger hoping I'd get pregnant. Then I did and he really didn't have any money, but he was so sweet and I wanted to love him, and now I do love him, but don't you see…this is it, this is me paying for all that. Bad people always get their comeuppance. Look at my mother. She got hers. Like mother like daughter. This is it, my babies are going to die."

"Honey, please." Carrie cupped her friend's face. "Listen to me. Innocent babies are not punished for what their parents did wrong. You're in pre-term labor because you have a medical issue going on and that's it. Stressing out over something that's in the past isn't going to help your condition. What's done is done. It doesn't matter **how** you got pregnant, or **why **you slept with Greg in the first place. What matters is that you love each other now and want these babies. That's it. And I don't believe for a second that you're any more or less deserving of children than me, so please never say that again."

"Really?" Tawny squeaked.

"Absolutely. You're going to be a terrific mother to these little girls." Wiping her friend's tears, Carrie whispered, "They can't wait to meet you, that's why they're trying to get out early. You've been talking and reading to them, putting headphones on your belly so they can hear music. They know they have a fantastic life waiting for them on the outside, and unfortunately…they've inherited their father's hyperness. Just like he couldn't wait to be with you that first night you were together, these girls can't wait to see their mommy." Crying with Tawny, she leaned over and spoke directly to girls. "Haleigh and Heidi, you have to believe us when we say that it will be much more fun for you to come out in a few months when you can go home to your beautiful nursery and be spoiled by your mommy, daddy, grandpa and Aunt Carrie. I know it's hard to wait, because we're counting the minutes until we see you too, but we all have to be patient and wait for you to grow a little more. Are you listening, girls?"

"They kicked," Tawny cried, wishing it was as simple as willing the babies to stay put. "Seriously."

"I felt them."

"Keep talking. Use your persuasive lawyer skills."

Chuckling through her tears, she announced, "Attention, hyper babies! This is Assistant District Attorney Caroline Blake."

**Steve Ogden's Home **

**11:08 pm **

After working on his opening statement for two hours straight, Steve glanced up from his papers and rested his gaze on the new photo of Carrie he had framed on his desk. "This is going to be a rough trial."

Sitting back in his chair, he smiled, "Thank you, Caroline." He could always count on her smile to boost his confidence. "How about we call it a night?"

Standing up, he clicked off his antique desk lamp and held out his hand, wishing she were there to take clasp it like his loving wife used to as they retired for evening. One day it would be real, but for now he would have to be content with being friends by day and a couple in his dreams. "I'm tired too." Luckily, patience was a virtue he had in spades.

"I bought your favorite muffins for breakfast," he announced while flicking on the bedroom light. Smiling at her 8x10 photo, which was poised on the pillow next to his, he said, "You won't have to thank me for rescuing you from your life. I love you, Caroline. I'd do anything for you." Shedding his clothes, he reminisced, "I fell in love with you the first day I met you. If only Stokes hadn't tempted you into a relationship before you met me, we'd already be living our happily ever after." He firmly believed that God had taken the baby she had sinfully made with Nick so she would be free to eventually marry and have children with him. "We'll be together very soon, I can feel it."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he softly said, "With your abusive past it's probably very difficult to stand up to your fiancé and tell him you don't want to marry him. I understand that, I do. But he's not worthy of you, we both know that. Just say the word, and I'll step in. I'll take you away if it's too uncomfortable here. I know just where we can go to live a simple, Godly life together. Once you join The Church, we'll be sealed in marriage and begin our family. After that life, we'll have all of eternity together in the Celestial Kingdom along with my first wife. You'll love her like a sister, you'll see." He lowered his head as tears formed. "Heavenly Father, please guide Caroline to open her eyes and choose the right."

**Wednesday, December 7, 2005**

**Desert Palms Hospital – Ante Partum Room **

**5:41 am**

Opening her eyes, Tawny struggled to speak, "Really? Labor stopped?" Waking from a heavy slumber, she wasn't sure if it was a dream.

"That's what the doctor said when she was here!" Greg cheered, his cheeks damp with tears. Only five hours before, the doctor was preparing them for the worst case scenario. "Your cervix is holding at two and you haven't had a contraction in ninety minutes."

"The babies are doing great too, Sweetheart." Scott kissed his daughter-in-law's hand. "Their heartbeats are strong."

"Carrie?" Unable to see, Tawny cried for her friend.

"I'm right here, Honey." Carrie stepped forward, brushing her tears. "I promised you I would talk to those little girls all night and I did."

Greg laughed, "ADA Blake, since our daughters listen to you, we're definitely going to ask you to lecture them about the dangers of sex before marriage when the time comes."

"It won't help," Becca blurted from her spot in the corner of the room. "Haleigh gives it up to Zack on prom night while Heidi is making out with Kyle Stokes. Wait!" Her hands rushed to her head, and after a moment of silence she excitedly shared, "It's okay! I see a condom wrapper."

**High Roller Motel **

**7:14 am **

"I found a used condom in the bathroom," Sofia remarked while dangling an evidence envelope in front of Nick. "Still juicy."

"Are you tryin' to make me lose my breakfast?" He rubbed his belly.

"Hey, you're the one who** insisted** on stuffing his face before work," she laughed. "I can't believe you ate two massive burritos." They had bumped into each other while jogging through their neighborhood park and when Nick mentioned he was starving, she extended a breakfast invitation at her new place.

"I couldn't help it," he chuckled with her. "I haven't had a home cooked meal since Thanksgiving." If he had been thinking with his head, not his stomach, he would have declined the invite.

"Stokes, I'm going to be highly suspicious if you suddenly show up on my jogging trail every morning."

"Well you're rentin' a place on the other side of the park from where I live, so it could be coincidence, not your eggs. Vartann moved into my brother's neighborhood. Some days I'm gonna run with them, but if I'm short on time, you'll see me in my own neighborhood."

"Does Carrie run?"

"Only if there's a shoe sale at the mall." After laughing at his own joke, Nick clarified, "She likes to release her job stress in aerobic kickboxin' class at the gym."

"Bummer for you," Sofia smirked, referring to Nick's preference for releasing job tension in bed. "Before I finish processing the bathroom, I'll step outside and ask Jas to run this back to the lab."

"Sounds good." Crossing the room, Nick stood in front of the DB, a thirty-nine year old male from Gilbert, Arizona, and asked, "See anything odd, Super Dave?"

"You and Sofia flirting." The Coroner glanced up shaking his head. "Oh, you meant in regards to the DB, didn't you?"

"That wasn't **flirting**," Nick snapped. "We're good friends, and I'm more than a little offended that you'd accuse me of disrespectin' my fiancée."

"I'm really sorry." Feeling terrible, David backpedaled, "The baby is colicky and has my wife and I up all night. I'm slaphappy." He recalled the story of the Stokes brothers nearly fighting to the death at The Tempest. "I hope you'll forgive me…and not punch me."

"Gimme a break. I'm not gonna punch ya." Nick rolled his eyes.

"Wanna play 'Guess the COD'?" the coroner asked to lighten the mood.

"Twenty bucks."

"Hey," Vartann ducked under the tape. "The wife confirmed her husband was out here for the Optometrist convention."

"SuperDave and I were just about to play a round of 'Guess the COD' for twenty." Nick pointed at the detective, "You in?"

"Yeah. My money is on 'Embarrassed to Death'." Tony snarked, "It doesn't get more humiliating than paying for sex in this shit hole."

"How do you know he paid for it?" David queried.

"What woman would come here for free?"

"Come here for free," Nick high-fived his buddy. "Good one. Okay, my COD guess is drugs."

"We'll see what Tox has to say about that," the coroner replied, "but my guess is coronary episode, no illegal substances."

"Really?" Vartann found the answer surprising. "Thirty-nine with an athletic build…that would be unusual."

Nick embellished his answer, "I think the chick he paid gave him something and he didn't handle it well."

"While you're waiting for DNA, I wouldn't exclusively question the working** girls** in the hood." David pointed at the dead man's posterior. "I'm no expert, but it would appear someone might have gone in the backdoor. Note the bruises on the hips, he was being gripped very tightly from behind."

"Looks like the person gripping him had long nails." After a quick inspection, Nick said, "I think it was a woman wearin' a strap-on."

David glanced up at the vastly experienced ladies men. "That's not something most men enjoy, right?"

Nick and Tony exchanged glances and silently agreed to have a little fun with the conservative coroner.

"You mean you've never let your wife…"

"Gosh no!" His face burning to a bright red, David defended her honor, "She would never want to do something like that."

"Are you sure?" Tony pushed out a labored sigh, "I think you're wrong, because I've never met one who doesn't love it. You know…they groove on all that role reversal shit. It makes them feel powerful. That's why Lady Heather's Dominion is so popular. Am I right, Stokes?"

"Hell yeah, it's like their favorite thing. Seriously, if your wife isn't asking to let her give it to you, I'd worry."

"Worry?" Beads of sweat formed on David's head. "Worry about what?"

"That she thinks your sex life sucks," Tony huffed. "Trust me, I can tell you from first hand experience that when your wife is secretly craving something that she's too afraid to ask you to do…your marriage is doomed to fail. She's probably bitching to all her girlfriends that you don't let her pound you."

"Uh." The man who believed missionary with the lights on was risqué, quietly asked, "You mean even Carrie likes to…"

"Big time." Nick whispered, "If she calls me to say a male lawyer or judge is giving her a hard time in court, I know for sure I'll be bending over that night."

"It's not too late to save your marriage." Tony handed over a piece of paper. "Stop at that adult store on the way home tonight and ask for the Vac-U-Lock starter kit."

"And lube," Nick added with a shudder. "Lots of it."

"I uh…need to get something from the van." David made a bee line for the door.

"We're terrible," Tony stated as he laughed.

"Awful."

"We're on a bullet train to hell, man."

Nick nodded in agreement. "I loved every minute of it."

"Me too. Are you going to tell him you're lying?"

"Lyin' about what?" Nick asked with a poker face.

"That it's not really Carrie behind you in your twisted fantasies, it's Sanders."

"There goes my breakfast."

**Desert Palms Hosptial – Ante Partum Room**

**7:30 am **

"Her breakfast is stayin' down," Greg reported to Tawny's doctor when she stopped by on rounds. "She's still having problems with her vision, but she's been making more sense and is able to move easier."

Tawny loved hearing Greg taking care of her. "When can I go home, Doc?" she asked, hoping the answer was 'right now'.

"If your contractions don't return, I'll take you off the Mag tomorrow. If you remain stable on Terbutaline, I'll let you go home when you hit twenty-eight weeks."

"That's almost two weeks!" Tawny protested.

"Keeping you in here two weeks will prevent your babies spending **months **in the NICU. If you don't believe the precautionary measures are worth it, I'll ask a mom visiting her one pound baby to come down here and scare the living crap out of you."

"Hospital's good, thanks."

"I thought you'd change your mind." After a wink, the doctor left the room.

"Good choice, Princess." Greg squeezed his wife's hand. "I went up to the NICU last night with Becca, it's scared the hell out of me. There's one baby up there that actually fits into the palm of her father's hand."

Imitating Becca, Tawny replied, "Staying!"

**Crime Lab – Grissom's Office **

**7:51 am **

"I'm stuck here for the duration of my pregnancy," Sara huffed when she forcefully shut the door to her husband's office. "I'm grounded. Nick grounded me. Does the control freak think I'm too irresponsible to know what I can and can't do in the field? Can you believe him?!"

"Well…" Removing his glasses, Gil quietly replied, "Department policy states that a supervisor has that option. With the recent violence in the field, I'm sure Nick felt it was warranted. He's not in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh! **You** told him to ground me, didn't you?" She hated that the realization just hit her. "It wasn't Nick coming up with this out of the blue, it was you telling him to mandate I stay out of the field before my third trimester begins. Admit it!"

"I _might_ have mentioned that I'd kill him if anything happened to you or our unborn son, yes." Shrugging, he added, "I didn't think I was capable of Neanderthal behavior, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I have a natural gift."

"Okay, Caveman." She stuffed her hands on her ever-widening hips. "Why not just ask me to stop working field assignments?"

"And make my life hell?" Gil chuckled. "Nah, I'd much rather Nicky take the heat."

"I really loathe you right now," she said through a smile.

"I'll let Flash have my side of the bed and take the dog house."

"We don't have a dog house."

"Lucky for me." Gil smiled, "Did you get a message from Greg?"

"Yes."

Gil pointed at his wife. "You love me for worrying about that baby."

"Shut up." She headed for the door.

"You do!"

She plugged her ears as she walked out. "I can't hear you!"

**High Roller Motel **

**8:08 am **

"What did you just say, Stokes?" Sofia's face flushed red. "**Who **did you ask to run the Community Center?"

"Irving." Nick stopped lifting prints. "I can't think of anyone more qualified. His knowledge of gang behavior and athletics, combined with his extensive volunteer experience with at-risk kids makes him the ideal candidate. Not to mention he's huge and won't be scared to work in the hood. Why? Is there a problem with me offerin' him the job?"

"Yes, there's a problem!" she blasted. "I move out of his apartment and you offer him a job. I can't believe you'd take his side."

David clamped his lips tight so he wouldn't blurt the thoughts popping up into his mind.

"Hold up." Nick asked in confusion, "How can there be sides if you two aren't in a fight? I thought you just weren't ready to live with someone yet? I thought it was an amicable split."

"Giving him a job is like you saying 'I think Sofia was a total bitch to you', which I'm sure is easy for you to believe."

"What?" Nick laughed. "How the hell did you come up with that?"

"Don't laugh at me, Stokes. You didn't like when I laughed at your quirky behavior one night, did you? No, so don't laugh at mine. I can't believe you." Miffed by the slight, she stomped out the door. "I can't believe I made you breakfast!"

Thoroughly confused, Nick yelled at her back, "Ever since that bump on the head, you've been acting crazy!"

**LVPD – North Trop Station **

**9:29 am **

"I'm not crazy!" Becca yelled at the bookish receptionist. "I'm Mrs. Lieutenant Tony Vartann and I want to see my husband." Waving her cell phone, she explained, "I tried calling, but he's not answering."

"Hey, Mrs. Vartann," Officer McNicholl nodded at the loon he had met during an altercation between her and a construction worker outside a nail salon. "How are you?"

"Agitated!"

The officer kept on walking, hoping to escape any further interaction with the nutcase.

"You really are Vartann's wife?" the receptionist said in surprise. "Sorry, I just got back from medical leave, so I'm a little behind. I'll page him for you."

"Thank you." Becca grabbed a seat in the waiting area. "Jeeeeez, you people need some new magazines. There's nothing feminine."

"People usually aren't looking to read fashion magazines when they come into the station." The receptionist rolled her eyes at the priss.

"Becks?" Tony hurried over to his wife. "What's going on? Why are you here?" He crouched down in front of her. "Is it the babies?"

"It's Zack," she replied in a hush. "He's going to have sex with Haleigh Sanders on prom night."

"Huh?"

"I had another vision, and you wouldn't answer your phone, so I stopped here on the way home from the hospital to see if I could talk to you."

"Jesus, Becks." He clutched his chest. "I thought something was wrong with the babies."

"No." She patted her belly. "They're fine, but that son of yours…"

"Since he's not even born yet, do you think we can wait and talk about this when I get home tonight?" After kissing her hand, he whispered, "I was in a meeting with my boss, Honey."

"Oh. I'm really sorry for bothering you." Suddenly she realized just how insane she sounded. "Actually, uh…I just missed seeing you off this morning. You have a dangerous job, so I always want a hug before you go out the front door to serve and protect the people. May I have one?"

Standing, he pulled Becca to her feet. "You may always have one." Knowing the snarky receptionist was rolling her eyes at the public display, Tony embraced his wife. "I love you, Honey. Have a great day."

"I love you too." Reluctantly she stepped away. "I'm still a little tense from yesterday's drama, and I didn't get to work away my tension at the gym."

**The Training Zone**

**10:02 am **

"Hey, Nick," Irving gripped his cell a little tighter. "I've been thinking about the offer you made me last night. I'd love the job."

"Seriously?"

Taking a seat on a weight bench, the former gang member explained, "I've enjoyed training, and I like studying to be a Physician's Assistant and the concept of being one, but it's not my calling. Helping kids have a shot at the future is where I'm meant to be. Running the after school sports program at the Boys and Girls Club and volunteering as a Big Brother have been the most fulfilling things I've ever done in my life. Running the BPAC Community Center will give me the chance to help thousands of kids in my lifetime."

"I'm certainly hopin' that's the case."

"I would have died twenty years ago if I didn't have help getting out of the gang lifestyle. I owe it to these kids to give them the same chance."

"Welcome to BPAC, Irving. You won't regret your decision."

**BPAC Offices **

**10:13 am **

"You'll regret it," Mike Rodgers warned Drew as he stood in the man's office. "Kids who have bad relationships with their mothers grow up fucked in the head." He glanced at Becca, who was standing guard in the doorway. "You know I'm right. You hate your Mommy and you're certifiable."

"As much as I hate to admit it…he's right about that." Becca stepped over to Drew's desk. "It would be better for your kids if they didn't have an adversarial relationship with Lissa." Then she glared at Mike. "But that doesn't mean I think they should sit on their stepfather's lap for story time."

Turning on his most sympathetic voice, Mike said, "I understand that you're suspicious of my motives, Stokes. I was a jerk to you when Nick was in the hospital, but you have to understand my position that night…you all were acting like ungracious assholes after I risked my life to save your brother's. Who wouldn't have been pissed off in that scenario?"

Becca bit her tongue so she wouldn't side with the bad guy again.

"I also understand that your brother and his cronies have scared you to death about me, that's why I have no intention of going anywhere near your children when they're spending time with Lissa. All I want is for her to a have a positive relationship with them instead of being painted like an evil monster."

"She** is** an evil monster," Drew snapped. "She was callin' our little girl fat. You think not havin' a relationship with their mother is detrimental, but I think havin' one with a mentally abusive mother is worse."

"Agreeing!" Becca raised her hand. "Now that I think about it, I don't hate my mommy because she was absent seventy-five percent of the time, I hate her because she when she was there, she was mentally abusing me. Not having a mom is sad for a kid, but having one around that makes you feel like shit about yourself ruins a kid's life and hurts their chances of having healthy relationships with other people. It also makes a kid grow up and be hurtful to other people, because being abusive is all they know."

"The visits can be supervised until you're comfortable that Lissa has changed her way." Mike made one final plea, "If you agree to the increased visitation, then I'll call off Schultz and Lissa won't sue for part-time custody."

"Why the hell is this important to you?" Drew asked in a huff.

"Lissa grew up with an abusive mother. As a result of that, she's damaged. Her spirit is broken and I'm trying to mend it. You may hate her, but I'm falling in love with her, and when you love a broken person, you want to do anything and everything you can to fix them." Looking at Becca, Mike smiled, "I'm sure your husband knows exactly how I feel."

Drew stood and barked his final answer, "No deal! Now get the hell out of my office and don't come back here again."

"Fine." Mike stepped into the hall. "I hope you enjoy explaining to Cassie that your stubbornness is the reason she had to start sleeping at her Stepfather's house every other week."

"Out! God dammit!" Drew launched a book at the bastard's head.

Mike laughed at the move. "Throwing shit at a cop recovering from a bullet wound? Mental instability is going to be as easy to prove as your immorality. Did I mention that Schultz went to Iowa to meet with Marta's parents? They're going to make wonderful character witnesses. Mr. Mueller is prepared testify that there was sex and underage drinking going on under your roof during a family Thanksgiving party, and that you were bragging about supporting homosexuality and sex before marriage. What color should I paint Cassie's new bedroom?"

"Don't!" Becca shrieked when Drew rushed around his desk. "He wants you to hit him!" When her boss froze in his tracks, she calmly said, "Officer Rodgers, stop being a dick and go. If you don't, I'll have you arrested for trespassing, which will cost you your job."

"It's a sad day when the crazy chick is the voice of reason." Grinning, Mike strolled toward the door. "Leaving!"

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**12:47 pm **

"I'm not going anywhere for a while," Tawny informed Sara, who had stopped by for a visit on her lunch hour. "The girls and I are just gonna chill out and listen to TV. Hopefully after I'm off this Magnesium stuff I'll be able to focus my eyes and watch it too…and read. Carrie and Becca were taking turns reading celebrity gossip to me and Scott is at Barnes and Noble getting some of my favorite DVDs. If I know the movie by heart, it's not as important to see it on the screen."

"If you need anything else, let me know and I'll bring it by after work."

"Thanks. So, tell me…are you excited about having a boy?"

"Yep, I'm more than happy to let you, Carrie, and Becca have all the girly girls." Sara patted her bulging belly. "Gil and I are perfectly content with a bug-loving boy. At least, we hope he'll love bugs."

"He's going to be a total bug freak like his father. Little Owen is going to put a cricket down the back of Heidi's shirt at the park when he's five."

"What?" Sara figured the drugs were making her friend spacey.

"Haven't you heard? Becca has psychic powers."

"You mean psycho, right?" After a shared chuckled, Sara apologized, "Sorry, that was terribly catty."

"As well as funny and slightly true. But who isn't without a personality quirk among us, right? Becca wouldn't be fun to have around if she was boring and normal."

**LVPD – North Trop Station Receptionist Desk **

**1:03 pm **

"I have a delivery," announced Hoss Stevens, a scruffy two hundred and eight pound courier, as he stood in front of the mousy woman behind the counter.

"For who?"

"It says on my routing sheet 'the bitchy receptionist'." Smiling, he added, "That's a quote, not my opinion. Sign here."

"What am I signing for?"

"Fifty magazines. I'm supposed to fan them out on the tables for you too."

"Magazines?" When she saw copies of Seventeen and InStyle it was obvious who had sent them. "Whatever." Afraid she would piss off Vartann if she rejected his wife's donation, she signed off on the receipt.

"I also have four plants, a small tree and a Feng Shui fountain." He handed over another receipt. "Sign at the 'x'."

"Fine! But it's not in my job description to water plants, so tell her she better get her husband to take care of them."

"Lastly." The courier presented a small Godiva shopping bag. "This is for you." He held up an envelope. "I'm supposed to read you the card." He cleared his throat. "Roses are red, violets are blue, chocolate is good for PMS." Dropping the bag on the counter, he laughed, "I'll be right back with the rest of the delivery."

**Carrie Blake's Office**

**2:16 pm **

"Lunch delivery." Steve held up a plastic bag from Chen's. "I hope I got your favorites right. Chicken Fried Rice and a spring roll?"

"Yes!" Starving, Carrie leapt out of her chair. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The joy in her eyes overwhelmed him, "You're very welcome."

"How much do I owe you?"

"It's my treat." Sheepishly, Steve explained, "It's to thank you for your compassion yesterday when I was having a moment about my wife."

"Aww." Carrie flashed a smile. "That's what friends are for. If I had to buy lunch every time a friend helped me through a bad moment, I'd be broke."

He adored her sweet laugh. "Understood." Steve held up his bag of food. "I'll be in my office if you…"

"Why don't you eat with me?" Carrie took her bag over to the small conference table. "We can run cases."

"Okay." Thrilled by the offer, he strolled to the table on air. "Did you see the email on the two-day DA conference being held in LA this month?"

"No, did we just get it?" She stopped to savor the aroma of her food.

"Yes. The boss is sending me, but I can choose one other colleague. I haven't heard back from anyone yet. Tessa Steinway is one of the speakers and…"

"Oh!" Carrie lowered her fork. "Tessa Steinway is one of my DA idols!"

"I thought I remembered you mentioned her lecturing in Seattle. Hey, if you want to go…"

"I'd love to go!"

"Then I choose you," he replied, masking his glee. "I'll have my secretary make the reservations this afternoon."

Carrie giggled into her Chinese food container. "And after work I'll stop and buy a new suit to wear in front of my idol."

When Nick entered the office, he was surprised to see his fiancée eating and laughing with Ogden. "Hey, Darlin'. The door was open, so I didn't knock. I hope I'm not interruptin'."

"Nicky!" She mindlessly jumped up with her spring roll in her hand.

"Hello, Nick," Steve managed to choke out.

The CSI gave a gentlemanly nod. "How are ya, Steve?" _Not that I care._

"Fine, thanks."

"Are you hungry, Nicky?"

"Yeah, I had to come here for a meeting, and I thought I'd see if you had eaten yet."

"Here." Carrie presented her spring roll for a bite. "My favorite Chinese food and my favorite man all in the same hour. It must be my birthday week."

Steve's bliss snapped into irritation when he saw Nick biting the spring roll he had purchased for Carrie to enjoy. It took all his willpower to politely say, "I'll let the two of you visit. I should really be prepping for trial anyway."

"Thanks again for the lunch." Carrie waved, "And for the conference invitation."

Steve rushed out, certain he'd vomit Lo Mein if he delayed his departure. "I'll see you later." He couldn't wait for LA. Certainly once Carrie was away from Nick, his influence over her would disappear and Carrie would wake up and return her engagement ring.

"What conference?" Nick asked after a second bit of spring roll.

"A DA conference in LA this month."

"So you fly over for the day and…"

"Two days." She pecked her fiancé's lips, which were shiny from the greasy spring roll. "Don't worry, I promise not to shop on Rodeo Drive this time."

"You're spendin' the** night** in LA with Ogden." Nick gave an anxious laugh. "Wow…I really hate the sound of that."

"Nicky." Her smiling fading, she snipped, "Not this again. Steve Ogden has zero romantic interest in me, because he's hardly the type of guy who hits on engaged women. Besides that, he's a devout Mormon and I'm not. When he remarries, it will be to someone of his faith."

After shutting and locking the door, he heatedly said, "I can't help it, Darlin'. He gives me the creeps! I come in here and he's bought you lunch, is making you laugh, and has invited you on a trip to LA. It makes me uncomfortable to know my fiancée is hanging out with another man who, in spite of what you think, is crushin' on you. You really shouldn't…"

"Are you serious?!" Carrie laughed at the insanity. "You were alone at your ex-lover's new place eating breakfast this morning, but I can't have lunch with my co-worker in my office with the door wide open without you flying off the handle? Do you have **any idea** how unreasonable you sound?! I didn't bat an eye when you told me Sofia made you an omelet this morning, which had to be a trip down memory lane because…"

"Burrito!"

"What?!" She stuffed her hands on her hips.

"I didn't have an **omelet** at Sofia's, I had **a burrito**. When I question people, if their story details change, it's a red flag that they're lyin' to me. I intentionally try to trip people up by changin' elements of their story to see if they'll correct me! I told you I ate **a burrito**, so I corrected you."

"Oh."

"I can't believe you said omelet to trick me!"

"What? I didn't! I said omelet because I forgot it was a burrito!"

"Oh, so you just weren't payin' attention to me this mornin' when I was talkin' to you."

"Yes!" Then she realized what she said, "No! I was paying attention to you, I just…I…I can't believe we're having this totally ridiculous argument, that's what I can't believe."

"Me either."

Laughing at themselves and each other, the tension dissipated.

"Sorry," they chimed.

"I have an idea." Nick pointed to the door. "Wanna take a walk and talk?"

After a quick check of her watch, Carrie nodded, "I have thirty minutes." When he turned to open the door, she grabbed his hand. "Kiss me, Stokes!"

"Your wish is my command."

**Lady Heather's Dominion**

**2:31 pm **

Standing in her office, Heather shrilled at the Vice detective, "I'm sick and tired of hearing the same broken record from you."

"This time we received **several **anonymous tips claiming that drug trafficking and prostitution are regular occurrences at the Dominion."

"Conservatives who don't understand what we do here are always trying to bring us down."

"These tips were very specific," replied Detective Hewitt, "and then they were substantiated by someone under your employ." He held up a warrant. "That's why I was able to get this."

"Who?"

"I'm not obligated to say." He couldn't wait to bust her and shut the place down once and for all.

"Fine!" Heather marched out the door. "Like I've told you before, look anywhere you'd like, because we have nothing to hide. All I ask is for you to respect the privacy of my patrons while you're on your witch hunt."

"We'll try our best."

**Trinity Christian **

**4:07 pm **

"Do your best, Honey!" Wendy shouted from the bleachers where she was sitting with the rest of the family. "Cheer for your brother, Ashley," she instructed her two year old. "This is Sean's first track meet. Say 'Go Sean! Go Trinity! Beat Saint Augustine's!'"

"He'll be eating dust," Ryan pessimistically informed his parents. "Look at the other seven. They're much jockier."

"How about a little optimism, son?" Paul gave his boy a shove. "Think positive."

Ryan nodded, "It'll be positively humiliating when he loses to Lindsay's boyfriend."

"Ooh, which one is the girl stealer?" Wendy felt bad for disliking a boy she'd never met, but couldn't help it.

"Colin is in lane two." Ryan grumbled, "But he's not a girl stealer. In order to steal Lindsay, the skank had to tell him she was Sean's girlfriend. Being the lying witch that she is, she neglected to mention it to him."

Paul pulled McKenna on his lap so she could see better. "When will we be done beating that dead horse?"

"There's a dead horse?!" McKenna screamed. "How did it die?!"

"No, Honey, it's just a funny expression, like 'raining cats and dogs'."

"Shh!" Wendy jittered in anticipation. "They're taking their marks."

"Go Sean!" Paul screamed when he saw his athletically challenged boy get a great start off the block. "He looked good, didn't he, Wen?"

"Yes!" The proud mother cheered along with little Ashley.

Several minutes later, Ryan said in surprise, "Sean's in the lead!"

"How many more laps?!" Wendy clutched her head. "Good Lord, the suspense is going to kill me."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

**Thanks for reading, everyone! **

**Maggs **


	5. Chapter 5

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 5**

**Friday, December 10, 2005 **

**Nick and Carrie's **

**9:40 am **

Crouching besides his puppy in the hallway, Nick whispered, "Okay, Binda, just like every other morning, I want you to run in the room, jump on the bed, and give Mommy a big kiss, but today, I want you to shake your head a lot." He demonstrated. "We'll see how long it takes for her to notice the surprise tied to her collar." Opening the door, he released his grip on the pup and gave the usual command, "Get Mommy!"

Being a Stokes, Binda knew how to follow orders and get the job done right.

"Hey," Carrie groggily greeted her puppy. "Is it morning already?" She had stayed late at the office so she wouldn't be have a pile of work to return to after her three-day birthday weekend. "What's that on your collar?" A smiling blooming, she untied the ribbon holding the pale blue sack.

Grinning, Nick peered into the room from the doorway to watch his fiancée's reaction to the gift. Originally he planned on giving it to her for Christmas, but decided to spoil her rotten and give it to her along with the horse and a few other surprises.

"Oh!" Clutching the diamond bracelet, Carrie jumped out of bed. "Nicky!"

Thrilled by her reaction, Nick flattened his body against the wall.

"Where are you?!"

Watching his shrieking fiancée race by him, he yelled, "Are ya lookin' for me?"

After doubling back, she threw her arms around his neck. "I love it!"

"I was hopin' you would."

"Thank you." She assaulted him with a frenzied smooch. "I can't wait to see it on. Put it on me!"

Taking the bracelet from her hand, Nick opened the clasp and hoped she remembered the song he had played for her when stargazing in Flagstaff. "As long as there's stars over Texas…" He finished singing the lyric while fastening the sentimental gift around her wrist, "Darlin', I'll hang the moo-oon for you. Happy Birthday, Carrie."

"Aww." Sniffling, she confessed, "I just thought the bracelet was gorgeous, I didn't realize you bought it because of the song you played for me under the stars in Flagstaff."

"I was hopin' you'd remember." His smile doubled.

"Of course I remember." Tapping his nose with hers, she whispered, "Every time I see these diamond stars, I'll think of you."

He joked, "Don't forget to wear it when you go to LA."

"Nicky…" She rolled her eyes. "On my birthday, you're going to…"

"Just kiddin'!" He whisked her up into his arms. "We both know it's not **you **who needs remindin' of my presence in your life, it's a certain jealous co-worker."

**Crime Lab – Layout Room**

**9:49 am **

Sofia glanced at her watch a second time, surprised that the morning was flying by. "I can't believe it's almost ten."

Looking up from her clipboard, Sara grumped, "I was just thinking the day is dragging. I think it's because I'm banished from the field. Well that and I'm really looking forward to tonight, aren't you?"

"Absolutely." _Not._

"I still haven't thought of a gift for Carrie though."

"It's difficult to buy a gift for someone who already has everything." Sofia opened a bag full of clothing.

"True." Sara chuckled, "I think I'll go the gag gift route. I'm going to stop at that giant discount shoe store on Industrial and buy her the most hideous pair I can find."

"I look forward to seeing her reaction."

"What did you get her?"

"A bottle of wine." Sighing, Sofia pulled a lacy black bra from the evidence bag. "I'm sure she'll get good use out of it on a romantic night with her doting cowboy."

"Still touchy from the breakup with Irving, huh? It'll get better."

"What?"

"Sorry." Sara shrugged as she wrote. "You sound cynical about romance, like when I was single and the rest of the world seemed hooked up. I was trying to empathize. I'm still new at the supportive girlfriend thing."

"Oh." Believing the sentiment, Sofia decided not to blast her co-worker. "Not only is everyone hooked up, you're all engaged, married or pregnant. It's annoying as hell." She mumbled, "And why I felt pressured to move in with Irving in the first place."

"Really?" Sara stopped writing upon hearing the overshare.

"I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"You're…like…confiding in me?" Sara sounded as surprised as she was. "Wow. I didn't realize we were at that level."

"We're not." Sofia pulled a black lace thong from the bag. "I'm just that desperate for someone to talk to."

"Oh." Sara resumed writing. "Thanks for restoring balance to the universe."

"Looking back, it's so easy to see that I wasn't ready to move in with Irving, but Carrie announced she was pregnant…"

"So you knew Nick would never leave her for you." Upon hearing her co-worker's gasp, Sara's gaze snapped to Sofia. "I said that out loud, didn't I? I didn't mean it in a snarky way. That was me empathizing again…not well I might add." As Sofia glared, she explained, "I was personalizing to my own example, sorry. When I was dating Hank, I was really just forcing myself into the relationship because I believed Grissom and I were never going to happen."

"I don't want Nick," Sofia huffed. After a harsh clearing of her throat she confessed, "That's not exactly true, I want the old Nick, not the one he is now. The Nick who was fun, the one who lived for the moment, instead of obsessing over wedding plans and having a family. The guy who enjoyed great sex, good food, and cold beer." A nostalgic sigh filled the room, "The one who was content hanging out in bed naked watching ESPN in between lusty rounds while I read a good book. Irving has so much energy. Living with him was like living with a Mexican Jumping Bean. After pulling a double I need someone who can appreciate vigorous sex, no talking, and deep sleep. Old Nick was that guy, he's the prototype in my head, but I wouldn't want him now that Carrie ruined him," she said with a chuckle, hoping to convince Sara that she wasn't a stalker waiting to play out a scene from Fatal Attraction. "Not that there's anything wrong with Carrie, I like her, I really do. It's just since she came into Nick's life, he's drastically changed."

"He's in love," Sara remarked, while thinking of her husband. "When a man falls for a woman, he changes…mostly for the good. If he falls hard enough, he starts thinking of marriage and maybe kids too. Think of Gil, two years ago no one would have believed he could be an overprotective husband and father, but you heard him earlier, asking me if I ate breakfast and took my vitamin. At home, he's talking about our future child all the time."

"Yeah, like Irving." Sofia resumed her mindless task. "Not a day went by without him mentioning how much he loves kids."

"He worked with kids at the Boys and Girls Club, so he brought his work home just like we bring home ours."

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. Things like 'one day when I have a kid I'll take him or her to the lake and teach them how to fish'."

Staring at her troubled co-worker, Sara recalled a conversation they had months ago. "You told me you didn't want kids."

"No." Sofia sharply corrected her, "I told you that I'm not having kids."

A moment later, Sara quietly asked a direct question to confirm her suspicions, "You can't have kids, can you?"

"You're very intuitive, CSI Sidle." Grabbing her empty coffee mug, Sofia headed for the door. "Too bad Irving never thought to ask me that before he inviting me to move in and subject me to hearing him talk about having kids every damn day."

Alone in the room, Sara glanced down at her belly. "Okay, Life Lesson Thirty-Six…never underestimate the importance of asking the right questions."

**Nick and Carrie's **

**10:01 am **

"What would you like for breakfast, birthday girl?" Nick asked in between well-placed kisses to Carrie's eager body. "French Toast?" Wearing only the jeans he had thrown on to walk Binda earlier, he gently bucked against his fiancée's lingerie clad hips. "Waffles?"

"Noooo." As Nick had instructed, Carrie was relaxing against the pillows as part of her 'Day of Spoiling'. "I want something else." Her fingers coiled around the belt loops of her fiancé's jeans, she gave them a suggestive tug down.

"Pancakes?" he queried in a sexy whisper before nipping at her ear lobe. "Slathered in melted butter and dripping with sticky sweet syrup. Hmm? And some sausage," he added as he rolled on top of her.

"Ooh! Yes!" She threw her man off her and bolted up. "That sounds great!" When she saw his disappointment, Carrie burst into a hardy laugh. "But if it's okay with you, I'd like to make red-hot birthday love first."

Before he could answer, Nick was on his back and the birthday girl was setting a playful tone. "We don't have to be anywhere until one, so feel to linger in all the right places, Sweetheart."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Carrie asked, "Where do we have to be at one?"

"We have to be where your second birthday surprise is." With hungry eyes he watched her lunge for the nightstand. "Thank you for the new lace, Darlin'." The hot pink babydoll accented every perfect inch of her body. "It was very generous of you to think of me on your special day."

"Well, I had a feeling you'd be spoiling me rotten, so…" Tossing a foil packet on the bed, she returned to her position looming over her fiancé. "I wanted to make sure I was prepared to thank you properly." Straddled on his hips, she purred, "When I spent time at the hospital alone with Tawny last night, she gave me a few new naughty suggestions, Tex. Even on bedrest, she was able to coach me through her best dance moves."

"And my love for her grows stronger."

"She used these moves to get money from her customers, but I'm going to use them to get birthday hints out of you."

"Uh oh." Knowing his lack of control in the morning, Nick worried that every surprise he had would be disclosed in the next five minutes. "Oh yeah." His eyes widened to saucers. "Work it, Roxie, work it."

"Give me a hint or I'll stop."

After a joyous moan, he disclosed, "Your next surprise requires water."

She took a guess as the straps of her top slipped off her shoulders. "Flowers."

"That's a really good guess." _But wrong._

"If you want me to lose the lace, you'll give me another."

"It has a very distinct smell."

Lace flying through the air, she giggled, "Roses."

"Another excellent guess." _And so very wrong._

"Now that my top's gone, I suppose you've figured out that I didn't treat myself to a boob job for my thirty-first birthday. My new lingerie was lined with a miracle bra."

"I was wonderin' about that," he chuckled, while slipping his hands around her hips. "You know I much prefer your other **ass**ets anyway."

In her sultriest voice, she warned, "It'll take another hint to get this party started, Baby."

"It's big."

"Mmm…" Grinning, she reached for the packet she had conveniently placed within arm's reach. "**Two dozen** roses." She ripped the foil with her teeth.

"I've never seen you do that before." He shivered from her surprisingly aggressive touch as she readied him. "Damn that was hot." _But your guess is cold. _

"Any more hints, Tex?"

"You need a pair of boots." _Another hint!_

"Ooh! You're right." Carrie jumped off her man and raced for the closet.

"I didn't mean** now**!" he yelped. "I never want you to leave in the middle of…" Then he saw her appear from the closet wearing only her red boots and his black hat. "Whoa."

"You were saying, Tex?" Like a siren, she beckoned him, "Besides stargazing, what else did we do in Flagstaff?"

**High Roller Motel**

**10:14 am **

"Up against the wall, Sweetheart!" Vartann directed the young prostitute, who was inching toward the door. "It should be a familiar enough position."

"I'll show you just how familiar if you let me walk after." Scarlett licked her lips, "Guess what I can do that your wife can't?"

"Give me a disease?"

"Oh!" Greg shielded his eyes when he walked into the room and saw a hooker licking her ruby red lips and dropping to her knees in front of Vartann. "That's gonna haunt my mind's eye for decades!"

"Take your saliva sample, Sanders."

"Yeha, uh…I think I'll go with a hair follicle."

"It's a friggin' wig," Vartann laughed as he grabbed his radio. "I doubt he's not a natural red head."

"She!" the hooker with an Adam's apple insisted.

"If you pee through a penis you're a guy." Rolling his eyes, Vartann called for a patrolman.

Presenting the swab, Greg softly directed, "Please open wide, Miss."

"Thank you for not being **ignorant**, Sweetie." She allowed him to take the sample without a fuss. "The name's Scarlett."

"How old are you?"

"How young do you need me to be?"

"Back off, he's married," Vartann droned.

"So are most of my clients."

"Like Brian Danes from Gilbert, Arizona?" the detective huffed.

"Who's he?"

Vartann clarified, "The dead john we found here covered in your DNA on Wednesday, **William**."

"Don't call me that!" the boy shrilled.

"You have bigger issues to worry about than your gender identity crisis," Greg counseled.

The detective announced, "You killed a man."

"What? I did not! When I left, the guy was sleeping it off. Someone must have come in here and killed him for his cash or something."

"I think you're right, but you're the robber." Vartann shared, "We talked to people, Scarlett. They told us about your MO. You lace your customer's booze with Valium, and when they pass out, you steal their jewelry and empty their wallets."

"The guy was tense!" The prostitute pleaded, "It was his first walk on the wild side, so I offered to go around the corner and buy a bottle. I thought I was doing him a favor."

As Vartann waved the patrolmen inside the room, Greg explained, "Mr. Danes was having a dental problem, and had been prescribed the pain killers to use as needed. He must have needed them before picking you up. Vicodin, Vodka and Valium used in combination can be lethal, and in this case, it was. Respiration slowed, and he eventually stopped breathing."

"You intentionally drugged him, robbed him, and then left him to die," Vartann summarized. "And you had the nerve to call me ignorant? You're looking at twenty-five to life, dumbass."

"No!"

Greg winced when the eighteen year old runaway from Oklahoma broke down like a baby. "The court will appoint you a lawyer."

"You have to believe me," Scarlett bawled as a uniformed officer read him his rights. "I thought he was sleeping! I swear I didn't know he was dying! I didn't mean to kill him! It's not first degree, right? Because it wasn't premeditated, right?"

"Wrong." Vartann broke the bad news, "Because the victim died during a robbery, it is indeed first degree murder."

"You have to believe me, Detective. I'd never hurt anyone. If I had known…"

"Okay, Scarlett, enough," Vartann droned, "tell someone who gives a damn."

"Was that really necessary?" Greg appealed to his buddy as he followed him out the door, "He just turned eighteen last week. He's a terrified kid who has been living on the streets for who knows how long. You have no idea why he ended up…"

"It's all an act, Sanders. Five minutes ago he was batting his lashes and offering to blow us, now it's crocodile tears and apologies. You've been out of the lab for what, nine months? I've been out here listening to bullshit for sixteen years."

"Yeah, and you're jaded!"

"You work another fifteen on these streets and then we'll talk."

"No, how about you come with me to Daniel's group meeting and listen to kids like Scarlett talk about being thrown out of their homes, or beaten to a pulp by their fathers, and then we'll talk."

Tony shook his head. "You're too soft, Sanders. You can't fall for every sob story you hear. Just wait…you're going to find out that most of the people you deal with are lying to you."

"Thanks for the condescension, **pal**."

"I'm not…dammit." Tony stuffed his hands on his hips in frustration. "Okay, okay, think of it this way…Tawny was a sixteen year old runaway, but she survived in this town without drugging people behind their backs, right? That kidknew he was playing with people's lives, and his recklessness killed a man. He doesn't deserve your pity."

"Oh really?" Greg stepped closer and curtly reminded his buddy, "Your **adult **wife drugged me behind my back when she was playing with my life four months ago, and it wasn't because she needed extra cash to survive on the streets of Sin City! Why the hell do you think the kid picked the name Scarlett in the first place?! Because nobody gave a damn about him! Isn't the thirty-nine year old married man with two kids who died here after paying a troubled eighteen year old boy for sex the one you **really **shouldn't be giving a damn about?"

"Greg…" With two cops only fifty yards away, Vartann reached for his buddy and pleaded, "Could we…"

"No!" After batting away Tony's arm, Greg snipped, "Becca was damn lucky that I didn't die from that GHB, and if I hadn't felt sorry for her, she'd be rotting behind bars right now! So you should be thanking your lucky stars that I'm soft, asshole! Because if I had been hard on Becca, you'd still be drinking yourself stupid every night and fucking your hand!" He ducked to avoid being punched, and was shocked when a blow didn't come. "You know where to find me when you're ready to apologize." Greg rushed to his truck, keeping on eye on Vartann the whole time. "I'll text you with the DNA results as soon as I have them!" he yelled before driving away.

**Nick's Armada **

**12:58 pm **

"We're here," Nick informed his blindfolded fiancée as he parked his truck.

"It seems like we've been driving forever!"

"It was only twenty-three minutes."

"The suspense is killing me!" Carrie bounced in her seat like a giddy five year old. "Can I take the blindfold off?"

"No. I'll help you out of the truck and when you're standing in the right spot, I'll take it off for you."

"You're such a control freak, Stokes!"

"Guilty as charged, Counselor." Nick hurried around his truck, grinning all the way. "Okay…careful." He helped her down and led her to the perfect vantage point. "Ready?"

"That is quite possibly the most rhetorical question you've ever asked me…except for 'will you marry me'."

"It didn't feel all that rhetorical when I was shakin' in my boots askin' ya to marry me at my parents' ranch." He loved the secret segue. Standing behind her, he removed the blindfold. "Welcome to the Double S Ranch."

"Wh…" Much to her surprise, she was standing in front of large iron gates, each with a black metal 'S' in the center. "You bought me a ranch?"

"Not exactly." Nick stepped forward and pushed open the gates. "Drew and I bought the ranch together."

"Double S…Stokes and Stokes."

"You got it." Standing on the dirt road leading to the stables, he proudly shared, "Cassie takes her ridin' lessons just down the road at JJ's Stables, and Drew saw the For Sale sign goin'up one day. We got to talkin' and decided to buy it so we'd have a place to house our horses and ponies and bring the wives and kids to ride and play."

"Aww!"

From his jacket pocket, Nick retrieved a small wrapped gift. "Happy Birthday, Carrie." He placed it in her hand. "And you didn't think I'd buy you shoes."

She unwrapped the mystery gift with the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning. "Sonnet." She read the engraved name off the gold horseshoe.

"I couldn't figure out how to wrap a horse, so…"

"Oh! Requires water to live, has a distinct smell, and is big!" Waving the horseshoe, Carrie took off for the barn. "You bought me a horse named Sonnet!"

Nick raced after her, so he wouldn't miss her initial reaction.

"Happy Birthday, Carrie!" Ren greeted the birthday girl when she stepped into the barn. He was standing in the center, holding Sonnet's lead and smiling. "Welcome to the Double S Ranch. This is here is Sonnet. She's a real beauty, and I think you're gonna love the ride she gives you. It's great to see you again by the way."

"Nice to see you too, Ren!" After hugging her friend, she approached the majestic horse with an uncontainable smile. "Wow. She's gorgeous, Nicky. Thank you!" She couldn't stop stroking the beauty's mane. "I love her."

"I'm so happy to hear that, Darlin'." He nodded at Ren for picking out the perfect horse. "Hey, are you all settled in?"

"Settled in?" Carrie froze. "Did you move to Vegas?"

"I moved right here, to the Double S."

Nick placed a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Here's the second part of your surprise."

"You bought me a cowboy? Catherine will be totally jealous!" Carrie broke into a fit of laughter. "How will this work? Will you rotate nights or weeks with me?"

"Aren't you cute." After rolling his eyes at his hysterical fiancée, Nick explained, "The Double S isn't just a ranch. We're going to build a therapy farm on the other half of the property that will operate in conjunction with BPAC. I've done some research, and there's a program in Colorado that I want to mirror. They've had great results incorporating equine therapy and farm work into the treatment plans of sexually abused children. I read a case study of one little girl who had shut down completely after being raped by her uncle. She spoke her first world while brushing a therapy horse. Ren's here, because I persuaded him to leave Flagstaff and head up the program. He'll be able to make a much bigger impact workin' here, than he was with the Whispering Pines patients." When he saw Carrie's eyes well up, he softly said, "My gift to you is…makin' one of your dreams come true, Sweetheart. 'Sonnet Farms' will be the safe haven for kids I've heard you wish for so many times. It will be a place where damaged kids can escape their painful realities and spend a little time with gentle creatures who won't mentally or physically abuse them. For the kids who are too small to work with horses, we'll have these adorable lop-eared rabbits. I have pictures of the place in Colorado, when you see it all, I think you'll…"

"Stop!" Carrie held up a trembling hand. "Stokes, if you make me love you anymore at this moment I'll explode!"

Ren patted Nick on the back. "See, I told you to save that bracelet for Christmas, because this was gonna blow her mind." Chuckling, he handed over Sonnet's reins. "I'll be in the office if you need me."

"A therapy farm requires water, has a distinct smell, and it's big." Carrie threw her arms around her man's neck. "You totally tricked me! I thought you meant **the horse**! Not that I don't love the horse too, but…wow. I'm in awe that you did this for me, Nicky. Completely in awe."

"Uh…" Since it was the first time he had ever had a woman 'completely in awe', Nick decided not to ruin the moment by admitting he was talking about the horse when he had given those hints. "I love you, Sweetheart."

"And I'm feeling damn lucky that you do." Folding her hands, she pleaded, "Now can I ride Sonnet?" She returned to impersonating a five year old. "Can I? Can I?"

"Your new boots are in the Tack Room."

"New boots too?! This is the best birthday** ever**!" She skipped off, but the new ranch owner stopped after ten feet and quizzed, "What's a Tack Room? And where would I find it?"

"I guess I shoulda bought you ranch lessons, huh?" After securing Sonnet, Nick walked over and took Carrie's hand. "How about we start with a tour?"

**Drew's House **

**1:29 pm **

"Right this way, Aunt Katie!" Cassie Stokes skipped out the back door. "You and Miss Jean are gonna sleep in the Guest House, because Grandma and Grandpa are already in the guest suite, Aunt Kendra and Uncle Barry are in the guest room, and Aunt Barbara and Uncle Kevin are bunkin' in the empty bedroom my Daddy used to sleep in when my Mommy was mad at him."

Katie turned to her partner, "My brother's kids have always been big time snoops and blabbers, so make sure you lock the bathroom door. Cassie walked in on me last Easter at the ranch and then ran back to the dining room to inform everyone I'd be at the table for brunch as soon as I was done wiping my bottom." As Jean laughed, she finished, "When I got there, the little cherub asked me…very loudly…why I had **fur** on my privates." Katie joined in the laughter, "I figured out that her Supermodel mother probably had hers permanently removed, so the kid didn't know it was the norm."

Throwing open the door to the Guest House, Cassie said, "There's a pretty pink flower room and an icky boy sailboat room. I suggest you do rock, paper, scissors to see who gets the pretty one, so you don't fight over it."

"Good idea, Sugar."

"Page me if you need anything," Cassie directed as she bolted out the door. "I gotta go supervise the decorations! The man was doing it all wrong!"

"Wow." Jean belly-laughed, "No question of paternity there. That cute little control freak has Stokes blood coursing through her veins."

Peering into the room that her niece obviously loved, Katie laughed, "And we know she's also definitely not a lesbian. Even at six, I would have had a problem sleeping in this Laura Ashley nightmare. Really, my parents' first clue should have been me painting my half of the Holly Hobbie room I shared with Barbara, dark blue and decorating it with softball equipment." Walking to the second bedroom, she stepped in and admired the masculine décor. "Ahhh…home sweet home."

"If the kids are going to be snooping, I'm going to unpack my stuff in the pink room and give it the lived in look." With her suitcase in hand, Jean sighed, "Because I'm sure the last thing your poor brother needs after dealing with Marta's father is more drama."

**LVPD **

**3:52 pm **

"Okay, now that it's just you and me, you can turn off the water works." Vartann took a seat across from the boy whose red wig, earrings and make up had been removed for his mugshot. "I've been vaccinated with bullshit for the past sixteen years, and consequently…I'm immune."

The boy wiped his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Why did you pick the name Scarlett?"

"My grandmother watched **Gone with the Wind **all the time." Smiling, the boy explained, "I wanted to be Scarlett O'Hara. One day, when my grandmother was taking a nap, I pulled the curtains off the living room wall and made a dress, just like Scarlett did in the movie. Do you know the scene?"

"Yeah. What about The Wizard of Oz? Did you like that one?"

Scarlett flashed a shaky smile. "Doesn't every boy dream of going over the rainbow? Come on…be honest, Detective, haven't you?"

"Yeah, when I was seven…and sorry to disappoint you, it had nothing to do with perverted homosexual subtext. My brother was taller than me, and I thought it would be really cool to tower over the munchkins and not feel short for a change."

"So you grew up, became a cop and now you get to lord over all the little people…I doubt a good therapist would be surprised over your career choice."

After making a mental note to run that conclusion by Dr. Myers, Vartann opened his file. "Enough about me, let's talk about you, William. Oh right…you prefer Scarlett O'Hara." He held up a sheet of paper. "When you were hustling in Kansas City, you preferred Dorothy Gale…that's why I asked the Wizard of Oz question. When you were in Miami, you used the name Rachel Marron…that one, I'll admit, I didn't get."

"Now I believe you're not secretly gay," the boy laughed.

"I called my Mommy," Vartann said with a chuckle. "I call her every day anyway, and she likes old movies. I said 'Hey, Ma, I'm doing this movie trivia thing and I have Scarlett from Gone with the Wind, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, but the last one is Rachel Marron, and I can't figure out the movie. She didn't know either, so I had to Google it. The Bodyguard, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner."

"Whitney," the boy explained, "she's the ultimate diva, but people laughed at me for trying to be a black superstar, when I was a skinny, pasty face boy from hicktown Oklahoma. I wasn't making shit."

"So you went to Kansas City and became Dorothy." Holding up the next page, Vartann said, "And you left Kansas City when you stabbed a john for his wallet. The deceased's name was Henry Lansing."

"How…"

"The DNA found at the Henry Lansing murder scene matched the DNA found in the condom at The High Roller. I don't have your DNA results yet, but I have a hunch it'll be a perfect match. Even without the DNA though…you're screwed. The description of the prostitute last seen with Henry Lansing, included the mention of a crown tattoo and the words 'Queen of the Night', 'Queen of the Night' is a song from the movie The Bodyguard as sung in the movie by none other than…Rachel Marron." He selected some of the lyrics 'You've got a problem with the way I am? They say I'm trouble and I don't give a damn. Don't make a difference if I'm wrong or I'm right." Vartann lowered the paper. "You know what I'm gonna say though, don't you? Show me the tattoo."

The boy lowered his gaze to the table.

Vartann leaned in, "What happened to your grandma who liked old movies, William? Huh? Was it the day you turned her curtains into dress? Did that throw her over the edge? Did she start screaming? Maybe call you a few choice names? Is that why you pushed her down the stairs?"

"She fell!"

"Right, and Mr. Lansing accidentally tripped and landed on your knife, and Mr. Danes begged you to put Valium in his vodka and leave him for dead." Vartann pushed, "Come on, what was it? Did granny deny you access to her heels and makeup, so you got pissed?"

"If you knew her, you would…" Shaking with anger, the young murderer confessed, "That selfish bitch wouldn't give me money for sex reassignment surgery. She had tons of cash! **Tons!** But she wouldn't help me."

"So you shoved granny down the stairs hoping to inherit her cash, but surprise, surprise…you didn't get anything but a ride to a group home. I bet that sucked, huh?"

"I want a lawyer!"

"Then we're done." Vartann stood and grabbed his folder. "Looks like you're finally starring in a big time drama, Scarlett…but I wouldn't hold out for a happy Hollywood ending."

"Go to hell!"

"I'll keep a seat warm for you."

**Double S Ranch**

**4:27 pm **

"Maybe I should put a couple of ice packs on the passenger seat for you, Carr." Nick opened the truck's door.

"Jeeeeez, it's not that bad," she sweetly chuckled while taking his hand. "Give me a boost though."

"It's just like makin' love, Darlin'…once you're doin' it on a regular basis, you won't get sore every time."

"I remember those days," she giggled.

"Look at you rubbing your butt." Laughing at her he teased, "Everyone at the party will think I've been…"

"Party?" She remarked in surprise. "What party?"

"Dammit!" Nick kicked the truck's tire. "I can't believe I only had two hours to go and I blew it! I blew it in the home stretch. Un-friggin-believable!"

"You're throwing me a surprise party?" Forgetting her soreness, Carrie jumped out of the truck. "Really?"

"Since it's no longer a surprise, it's technically just a party, but yeah, a little one." He pouted. "I can't believe I slipped." Taking a seat on a boulder he hung his head. "It wasn't a big deal, just the gang surprising you at The Roadhouse for dinner and country western dancin' after."

"How fun!" She burst into a smile. "I can wear my favorite red boots."

"Yeah, I was tryin' to make it fun." He shrugged. "I even have few balloons and a little cake. I was already bummed that Tawny couldn't be there for you, and now it's not a surprise either."

"Aww, come on, Nicky." She grabbed his hand. "You've already made my birthday beyond amazing. I promise to act really surprised."

"Thanks, Darlin'." He stood and hugged her tight, burying his smile in her hair. _But you won't have to act, because the party is at my brother's, I've invited everyone you know, and most of my family will be there! _"Hey, we better go, because before we head to the restaurant, we still have to shower, dress, and stop at my brother's so the kids can give you their present." Helping her into the truck again, he said, "Jeez, I still feel terrible for blowin' the surprise, Carr. I'm really sorry."

**Grissom's Office **

**4:49 pm**

"Hey, Sanders!" Tony calmly declared from the open doorway when he saw Greg sitting in one of Grissom's side chairs. "I've been looking all over for you, man. I'm ready to make that apology now. If it's okay with you, Gil?"

"Sure." Removing his glasses, Gil lowered the report he had been reviewing with Greg. "Have a seat."

The detective quietly shut the office door. "I'll stand, thanks." Vartann strolled over to the desk. "I'm very sorry, Hoj. Very, very sorry. I was wrong about Scarlett, aka William, aka Dorothy and Rachel. He's not a murderer." The detective pushed out a friendly smile. "No, sweet, weepy Scarlett, who you wanted to protect and help because you thought he had a terrible, terrible childhood is…" his tone snapped to anger, "a god damn serial killer who left a grandmother and who the fuck knows how many johns in his murderous wake! So, next time, before you go all high and mighty and rip me a new asshole in front of **my crew**, while spreading my mentally unstable wife's dirty laundry for everyone to hear…maybe you should get your facts straight! Isn't that what you CSIs are always giving us shit about? Not jumping to conclusions or making assumptions before the evidence is processed?" He turned and asked Gil, "You're the quote-meister around here. You know the old adage…never assume, because when you do, you make an ass out of you and me."

"Uh…" Shell-shocked, Gil had nothing more to say.

Returning his glare to Greg, Tony yelled, "You made asses out of us both, Sanders! By the time I got back to the station everyone was laughing it up saying you and I had a lovers quarrel in the parking lot of the High-Roller! Here's a news flash for you…just because you lived in San Francisco, are a homosexual sympathizer, and have a gay brother whose family treats him like shit, does **not **mean that you should automatically give every queer the benefit of the doubt! Most straight people are lying assholes, so it stands to reason that most gay people are too! **And, **just because I'm a self-professed homophobe who wants to puke every time he sees two guys playing tonsil hockey, does **not **make me tougher on gay murderers. I give gay murderers the same respect I give straight murderers…**none!** Out of the two of us today, I think the only one who was biased was **you**!"

"Uh…" Gil still came up empty.

After a deep breath, Tony moved on to his next point, "It's not being hypocritical for me to think Becca was worth saving and Scarlett isn't. Becca's intent when she drugged you wasn't malicious. She wanted you to love her for Christ's sake. The last thing on Earth that woman would ever do is harm you. Scarlett wanted to rob the vic and didn't care if he lived or died. How dare you compare my wife to that scumbag! And here's a big piece of advice I suggest you take to heart. You, of all people, shouldn't **ever **throw stones about other guy's wives, because Tawny is an easy mark! She was stripping in this town for years, which means she did plenty of nasty shit. None of your friends have said this to your face, but the truth is that it's impossible to survive and be as successful as Tawny was in the adult entertainment industry in this city, unless she played the required games. Ask any girl at Tweeters, and she'll tell you that Tawny had to screw the boss to become a headliner, and then drop to her knees regularly to keep her spot. Do you **really** think Guido over at the club said 'Sure Tawny, you can have top billing as the golden bird and make shitload of cash, because I think you're **sweet**? Wake up, Sanders! The only reason I didn't point that out to you in front of my crew after you **humiliated me**, is because you're family in Becca's eyes and I know that you've been under duress with Tawny in the hospital. That said…if you **ever** embarrass me like that again, it's open season on your ass. Do we have an understanding?!"

With his gaze locked on the floor, Greg nodded.

"Good!" Vartann pushed out a tense breath. "For the record, I think Tawny and Becca are both screwed up women with Daddy baggage and histories of making bad choices. So, when it comes to who has the wife with the most unscrupulous baggage, I consider it a draw." After rushing to the doorway, he yelled, "And one more thing! You wouldn't have been there to save my ass the other day if I hadn't saved yours first when I stopped you from rushing off and putting a bullet in Drew Stokes. So we're even there too!"

"Is he really gone?" Greg anxiously asked when the door slammed.

Gil nodded. "Thankfully, yes. I thought he was going to strangle you. From what I intuited, there he had just cause."

"I would have preferred strangulation over what he said."

"In the future, if you ever have a problem with a detective, you save your remarks until you can speak with him or her in private. It's just like high school, Greg, They have a pecking order and the stars of the varsity football team don't enjoy being taken to task in front of lowly freshmen, especially by the Chem Nerd."

"Got it." Finally lifting his eyes, Greg meekly asked, "Do you think what he said about Tawny at Tweeters was accurate?"

"What does it matter?"

"That's a yes."

Watching the blood draining from Greg's face, Grissom rounded his desk and took a seat in the empty guest chair.

"It's times like these when I really think we'd be better off moving out of state. Somewhere no one knows what she used to do."

"A person can't run from their past, Greg. Haven't you learned that from working here? It always catches up to them. You could move to New York and invent a different reality, but one day, when you're least expecting it, an ex-customer will walk into an elementary school meeting, recognize her and expose her. And until that moment, you'll have lived in far of it happening…which is no way to live."

"But, Gris…what happens when the girls are in Junior High and the school bitch hands them an old Tweeter's brochure that her father found at the bottom of his desk drawer? What do I tell my daughters when they come home crying that everyone in school is calling their mother a whore?"

"Tell them all the reasons you love their mother," Gil advised. "Then follow that with how lucky they are to be living in a stable home with two loving parents, because their mother didn't have that luxury when she was growing up. If that doesn't work, he winked, "have Carrie talk to them. I had to testify during one of her trials yesterday, and after watching her work, I believe she could persuade the devil to rethink his position."

**Mike and Lissa's **

**5:09 pm **

"We changed our minds, Schultzy." As Lissa fetched him a second beer, Mike spoke to his hardworking lawyer over the phone. "We want to sue for full custody."

"Why the change of heart?"

"Because Lissa saw Marta out shopping today and it pissed her off." Mike laughed, "Does that sound like a shallow reason for ripping innocent children away from their loving father and beautiful home?"

"Quite."

"That's what I thought too," Mike's laughter doubled, "but that's my narcissistic wife for you. I'm only supporting the decision because I know it will really piss off the high and mighty Stokes clan."

"You breathing pisses off the Stokes clan."

"Very true," Mike laughed. "Don't you think I'll be a great stepdaddy, Schultzy?"

"Yes," sarcasm dripped from the acerbic attorney's voice, "when I conjure up an image of a doting father at the zoo, a picture of you pops right into my head. Mmm…I can smell the cotton candy their sweet stepdaddy is handing his angel-faced stepkids."

**Drew's House **

**5:23 pm **

"Thank you, Sugar." Jillian accepted a glass of punch from Cassie with a sunny smile. "You are a wonderful hostess."

"Thank you, Grandma."

When the child skipped off, Jillian Stokes whispered to Marta, "The idea of those sweet children spendin' time under that monster's roof has been givin' me nightmares. It's taken all my willpower not to race over there and strangle Lissa 'til she's blue!"

"It's all my fault," Marta replied in a voice saturated with guilt. "Me being with Drew is what's fueling her anger. She hates me. My father hates me. He's forbidden my mother to speak to me. I don't feel like I've done anything to…" The tears flowed. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Honey." Watching tears pour from the young lady's eyes, Jillian stepped forward with open arms. "You're an innocent victim in this mess. The only thing you're guilty of is lovin' three innocent children and my son. Lissa had her chance, but threw it away. For her to be angry that you volunteered for the job she didn't want is ludicrous. And your daddy, well…I know a lot of people back in Dallas who think just like him, and I wish I could say with confidence that he'll come around, but…he may not, at least not for a while."

"Even if ever he does," Marta cried in Jillian's arms, "I don't know if I can forgive him for making me feel so filthy and worthless." She sucked in a jagged breath. "He thinks the only reason Drew wants me is for sex, which is a joke, since I'm as far from a Playboy Bunny as you can get. Why can't he see that Drew loves me for reasons beyond what we do in the bedroom?" Then she remembered who she was talking to. "Oh gosh." Her hand flew to her mouth. "I'm talking about being intimate with your son. How gross. I mean talking about it, by the way, not Drew. Drew's not gross." She cried, "He's wonderful."

"Honey, my sons' sexcapades have been front page news, to say I'm desensitized is an understatement. You didn't make me uncomfortable. Hell, if I was squeamish about that sort of thing, I couldn't stay here while my lesbian daughter was sleeping in the guest house with a woman, right?"

"What's a lesbian, Grandma?" Cassie asked as she skipped into the living room holding a balloon.

"Ooh, I think I hear your grandpa callin' me, Sugar." Jillian high-tailed it out of there. "I'll be right back."

"This if for you." Cassie extended the balloon to the nanny, who was dabbing her red eyes. "Balloons always make me happy. Well, except for when they pop."

"Aww." Marta thanked the little girl with a hug. "I promise not to cry for the rest of the night."

"Betcha you'll cry happy tears." Realizing she almost slipped, Cassie covered her mouth. "I don't know anything."

"What?"

"Gotta go!"

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**5:46 pm **

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Greg asked his wife for the hundredth time. "My dad could work the roaming camera and I could…"

"Go!" Tawny barked. In private, she had confessed to her father-in-law that Greg made her jittery because he paced the room and talked incessantly for the entire visit. "You'll make the live reports fun, Chuckles."

"She's right." Scott settled into the recliner. "I'd be terrible."

"We're all set," the UNLV TV Production student held up the remote control to operate the bank of TVs positioned next to the bed on rolling carts. He had been hired by Drew Stokes to provide a live link-up to the party, so the bed-ridden woman wouldn't miss the event. "I've tested everything and you're good to go. My crew has placed three cameras with sound connections at the Stokes residence, and your husband will have the roaming camera, which we'll refer to as camera four. Each camera has a corresponding TV, and you can mute the sound on whichever ones you're not listening to, so you don't get overwhelmed. The first camera is in the outdoor party tent, so you'll be able to catch everyone two-steppin' and hear the country western band. With the remote, you'll be able to pan and zoom, so if you see something interesting, you can check it out. If it were me, I'd be looking for wardrobe malfunctions and butt crack."

"I was just thinking that, Bob!" Tawny giggled when she saw the camera zoom in on the empty dance floor surrounded by hay bales. "We're going to be voyeurs, Daddy-O!"

"This is going to be fun. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Drew doing this for us almost makes me like him." The dentist cracked open a can of sugar-free cola and grinned, "With an open bar, you know the guests will be good and sloshed too. I can't wait."

"I like the way your mind works, Sir." The frat boy nodded. "Too bad they won't let us crack open a twelve pack in here."

"Let me see your driver's license, Bob." Scott pulled out the trendy reading glasses Lily had picked out for him over the weekend in San Marino. "Twenty-two." He winked. "I have a secret stash of Barcardi to help pass the hours I spend here. When you're ready, I'll mix you a rum and coke."

"Sweet! I wish I had a cool dad like you."

"He wasn't always this cool," Greg interjected. "He used to make me eat broccoli and clean my room. Only the 2005 Scott Sanders Edition has the built-in coolness module."

Pouring rum into the insulated mug he had just filled with soda, the fifty-eight year old confessed, "I went streaking on Saturday night. I was always too chicken in college when my friends did it, and it was on my list of things to do before I die. So, when the opportunity arose, I handed Lily my clothes and took off."

"Seriously?" Greg looked at his father in horror. "You could have gotten arrested for indecent exposure, Dad! You could have lost your license to practice and…"

"Chill out, Son." Scott laughed into his secret cocktail. "We were at a nude beach, so it was legal streaking."

"Fifty-eight year olds." Greg rolled his eyes. "They're such smartasses. When are you gonna grow up, Scotty?!"

Laughing, the co-ed continued the orientation, "Okay, Tawny…camera two is in the billards room, where people will be congregating, I'm sure. Camera three is my favorite though," the tech chuckled, "Mr. Stokes said you were a fan of reality TV shows, so I set up a confessional in the office. You know on the shows when the contestants go in the little room and gossip and tear apart the other people. In this case, we're going to direct people in there to talk to you. You'll be able to respond in real time."

"Too cool!" Tawny clapped her hands. "The drunker they get, the better that will be!"

When he saw his wife and father laughing together like best friends, Greg acquiesced, "Okay, give me a kiss before I leave to be your roaming cameraman."

"You have Carrie's gift, right?" They had a frame painted with 'World's Best Aunt' to hold Haleigh and Heidi's latest ultrasound photo. Below the picture were the words 'Aunt Carrie convinced us to stay put. She rocks!'

"Yep, I have the gift on the front seat of my truck." After smooching his wife's lips, he planted one on her belly. "Go to bed early, girls. You're far too young to see the drunken debauchery ahead. From what I've heard, these Stokes hoedowns can be wild. Yee haw!"

**The Vartanns**

**5:59 pm **

"Hell no." Tony shook his head as Becca came at him with a black cowboy hat. "I'm not wearing that. I put the boots on that you bought me, and this pussified western shirt, but I'm drawing the line at the hat. I hate hats. I don't even like ball caps. Think about it…have you ever seen me wear a hat? Can you even picture me wearing one? No."

"All cowboys wear hats!" Becca protested as she stood before her husband.

"Then let me take this opportunity to remind you…I'm not a cowboy. I was born in Brooklyn, not Beaumont."

"That just makes you an **Urban **Cowboy."

"Becks..."

"Pleeeeease." Sporting ponytails, a blouse knotted at the waist, rhinestoned designer jeans, and snakeskin boots to match her hot pink cowgirl hat, she struck a Lolita pose. "Just for a minute."

"Thirty seconds." He snatched the hat and slammed it on his head. "Okay, Madame Becks, use your psychic power to predict if I'm going to have a good time at the party tonight if I have to wear this stupid hat. What's that? I'll be miserable. Wow, you really are talented, Honey."

Becca's laughter shook the walls. "You're right, you look ridiculous. Oh god, take it off!"

**The Grissoms**

**6:06 pm **

"Put this on." Sara handed over a dime-sized button that said 'Yee Haw!' "The invitation dictated we dress cowboy."

Pinning the button on his beige polo shirt, Gil laughed, "I think it's a little over the top, don't you?"

"I don't like being told what to wear. In high school every Friday was spirit day. We were told to wear black and red. If you didn't, you got harassed."

"Like when you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day." Gil bristled, "I always hated that."

"Me too." Sara smirked, "You'll love the next part of my story."

"Will I?"

"Mmm." After a sensuous kiss, she informed her Entomologist husband, "I was walking by a thrift store one day and a necklace caught my eye, it was a ladybug on this gaudy fake gold chain. I bought it for four dollars and switched out the chain for black yarn and wore it the next Friday. They couldn't harass me anymore." She sighed, "Well they still had 'Sara's mom killed her dad thing' to work with."

"Do you still have the necklace?"

She shook her head. "When I was working in San Francisco, I took it off and gave it to a girl who had been in a car accident. Her father was killed and she was at the scene." A shiver went through her. "I had forgotten about that. It hit me really hard, because I was used to being in the morgue, not the field. The victims were always dead. I kept seeing that little girl's face…Charlotte…and hearing her cry 'thank you' when I put the necklace on her. I went home," she sighed, "and drank of course. Alone…of course."

"And here I was in Vegas…alone of course." Gil brushed a lock of hair from his pensive wife's face. "You should have called me."

Sara snarked, "Like you would have done anything about it if I did."

"Hey, look at the time." He grabbed his wife's hand. "We have to be there to yell surprise."

"Ugh, how annoying is the whole surprise party thing too?" She grabbed her sweater, which already had a miniscule 'Giddy up!' button pinned to it. "Don't ever throw me a surprise party."

"I promise **I **won't."

"Carrie has a surprise baby shower planned, doesn't she?"

Opening the door for his wife, Gil laughed, "What hasn't Carrie planned? Honestly, I can't believe Nick could pull off surprising her."

"Not with those blabbermouth Blake kids around."

**Drew's House **

**6:12 pm **

"Sorry we're late!" McKenna Blake yelled as she entered the foyer and waved to her best friend Cassie. "My daddy clogged the toilet and my mommy made him plunge it so the dog wouldn't eat the stuck poop like last time!"

As Wendy cringed, Drew welcomed his mortified guests, "Sounds like you need a drink. Head straight back to the Billiards Room. That's where everyone is hidin' out to yell surprise."

"I'll have a martini," Ryan regally announced as he handed his coat to the hired help for the evening. "That's what all you rich guys drink, right?"

"One drop and you're grounded for a year, Son." Paul squeezed Ryan's neck. "I'm serious, don't even think of sipping the dregs from people's forgotten beer bottles like you did at Thanksgiving."

"Is Lindsay here yet?" Sean quietly asked Cassie, who was showing off her pink leather cowboy boots to McKenna.

"Yep! She didn't bring her new boyfriend 'cause her mommy said that would make you feel bad." Cassie whispered, "I heard Miss Catherine say that to Nanny Marta in the kitchen."

"Cool." Sean's eyes lit and he faced the door waiting for his father and guest to walk inside.

"Your dad found it!" Rachelle, an asthmatic with severe allergies to peanuts, shellfish, and mangos, held up her inhaler. "It was on the floor of the car."

"Everyone!" Sean took his friend's hand. "I'd like you to meet Rachelle Desmond, she's my…Chemistry partner, and Trinity's Spelling Bee champion. Rachelle, this is Mr. Andrew Stokes, our host for this evening's festivities. Mr. Stokes is a successful businessman and my Aunt Carrie's future brother-in-law."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stokes. Sean has spoken very highly of you." Rachelle pushed up her glasses. "You have a lovely home."

"Why thank you, Rachelle." Drew shook the geeky, but sweet, girl's hand. "We're happy to have you joinin' us tonight. Any friend of Sean's is a friend of mine."

"Likewise."

"What lovely manners you have, Dear." Jillian was always surprised to encounter a polite teen. "And you're cute as a button." She extended her hand. "I'm Mrs. Stokes, the host's mother."

Hiding around the corner, Lindsay's blood boiled. Sean got to bring his new girlfriend, the straight-A student and annoyingly precocious Rachelle, who she loathed a little more each day. It was bad enough that Sean beat Colin at the track meet earlier in the week, but now she had to suffer through an entire night with Trinity's most irritating couple. "Ugh!" She marched off to read her mother the riot act. "This party sucks."

**Desert Palms Hospital **

**6:29 pm **

"I love this party already!" With Scott on one side of her and Bobby the TV Production geek on the other, Tawny was having a great time. "The booze is flowing and the night is young!"

"I wonder what the occupancy is on that billards room," Scott queried while sipping his second rum and coke.

"Nick invited a ton people," Tawny replied. "And it looks like they're all crammed in there waiting to surprise the birthday girl."

**Drew's House **

**6:36 pm **

After ringing the doorbell, Carrie rocked on the heels of her red cowboy boots. "I can't wait to go dancing after dinner."

"Me either." Nick didn't dare make eye contact with his fiancée, for fear of giving away the surprise. "Remember, we have a reservation, so we can't take forever here. I told my brother, one cupcake and gifts, that's it. No matter how much Cassie pleads with you to stay, we have to bolt at seven."

"Aunt Carrie!" Cassie jumped up and down in the open door. "You're here! Yay!" She patted her belly. "I've been waitin' to eat the cupcakes all day! Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks, Sweetie." Carrie picked up the happy girl, squeezing her tight, before returning her to her feet. "Did your Uncle Nicky tell you I'd be dressed like a cowgirl so you wore your western garb too?"

Nick prayed the kid wouldn't blow the surprise with only seconds to go.

"Yep!" The child winked at Nick. "You know I love to play dress up with you." Grabbing the guest of honor's hand, she tugged her inside. "I have our tea party set up in my Daddy's game room. He let me cover the pool table with a pretty pink table cloth and streamers, so I could display my cupcakes in style."

On the sly, Nick gave his niece a thumbs up.

"Close your eyes, Aunt Carrie." Cassie waited at the door. "I want it to be a big surprise when you see inside."

Carrie shut them and covered them with her hands. "Ready."

Nick and Cassie opened the double doors together, and then the proud fiancé anxiously said, "Open up, Sweetheart."

"SURPRISE!"

"Oh!" Carrie jumped back. "No way!"

Seeing her friend's reaction, Sara decided that maybe surprise parties weren't evil after all.

"Oh, yeah!" Nick gave his niece a high-five. "We pulled it off!"

Still in shock, the birthday girl stood frozen in front of the door, surveying the guests, and welling up at the sight of Nick's family. "You all came here for me, for my birthday."

Brass raised his tumbler of premium scotch. "And for the free booze…but mostly you…and the food." He lifted his glass higher. "Okay, people, let's get this square dance started! Lead the way, Nicky."

"I'm overwhelmed."

Nick took Carrie's trembling hand to lead her through the house. "I've got you."

"You sure did!" She still couldn't believe her eyes. "Wow…look at these decorations."

Watching her well up, Nick choked out, "You ain't seen nothin' yet." He threw open the French doors.

"A tent?!" she shrieked. "And a live band!"

Nick pointed at Greg standing on the candle-lit path to the tent. "And say hi to Tawny."

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**6:45 pm **

"Hi Tawny!"

Watching her best friend wave on the TV screen, the bedridden mother-to-be burst into tears. "Happy Birthday, Carrie!" Wishing she could be there for real, she wiped her eyes. "Dance one with Chuckles for me, okay?"

Carrie lifted the glass of champagne someone had handed her. "I promise!"

Scott clinked his glass to Tawny's flute of faux-champagne. "We'll have a good time too, Sweetheart. Just you, me, the grandkids…and Bob."

"You're right." Tawny caressed her belly. "Get ready girls, it's gonna be a wild night."

**

* * *

**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Maggs **


	6. Chapter 6

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 6**

**Friday, December 10, 2005 **

**Drew's House **

**6:51 pm **

Perched on her Uncle Nick's shoulders, Cassie proudly told her future aunt, "My Daddy didn't think I would keep the secret, but I did."

"How long have you known, Sweetie?" Carrie asked while waiting to greet the guests streaming out of the house for the party tent.

"Since yesterday!"

"Now I know why your uncle wouldn't let you talk to me when you were on the phone last night."

"Here you go, munchkin." Nick placed Cassie on her feet, so she could run into the tent with McKenna. "We'll meet you over there."

"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!" Ken Blake rushed forward to embrace his daughter.

"Thank you! I'm having the best day." The birthday girl gushed, "You and Mom always made my birthdays so special, and it seems that my future husband has picked up where you left off. Aside from this amazing party, he gave me this beautiful, sentimental bracelet, a horse **and** a therapy farm for abused children."

"Wow. It's going to be hard to top that next year, Nicky." Ken laughed at the boy, "You really should have paced yourself."

"I don't know, Daddy." Carrie squeezed her fiancé's hand. "I have a feeling Nicky will find a way to wow me every day for the rest of my life."

"Gag me," Paul Blake teased as he watched his sister beaming at her man. "You two really are beyond nauseating. Take it from a married man, Nick…you screwed yourself royally by going all out for the first year."

"Leave them alone, you big grump." Wendy playfully smacked her husband upside the head. "They aren't officially nauseating unless they're still acting gooey after their first anniversary. And take it from a married woman, Sis…you won't be. Now will someone** please** tell me where the open bar is, because I was home with the kids all day and if I don't get a cocktail soon, I may kill."

"I doubt you'd get away with it, Mom." Ryan pointed out the obvious as his parents hurried for the tent, "Half of LVPD are here!"

"Uncle Nicky!" Fourteen year old Jessica Garrison rushed into her uncle's open arms. "I missed havin' you at Thanksgiving this year."

"I missed you too, Jessie." Hugging his first niece, Nick saw Ryan's mouth drop open. "Don't even think about it, Romeo."

"What?!" Ryan exclaimed in a girl's pitch. "Uh…" After clearing his throat, the teen nonchalantly greeted the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, "I'm the birthday girl's cool nephew, not to be confused with the birthday girl's nerd nephew, Sean. Ryan Blake, of the Las Vegas Blakes…future golf legend and self-made millionaire."

Shaking the cocky boy's hand, the teen replied, "I'm Jessie Garrison, eldest daughter of Kendra Stokes and Mark Garrison, the founders of Stokes-Garrison-Carter in Dallas. I'll be your aunt's niece come February 11th."

In an instant, Carrie was playing matchmaker. "Ryan is in need of a dance partner tonight, Jessie."

"What she said." Ryan busted out his player smile and pretended he was Nick, "How about we mosey over to the bar, little lady? We can get to know each other better over a Coke and then I'll take you for a spin on the dance floor."

"Little lady?" Cracking up in the jock's face, Jessie informed him, "I think I already know enough about you, Blake. I'll buy my own Coke, thanks."

"Hey!" As the hottest girl he had ever seen sashayed away, Ryan whimpered, "Was it something I said?"

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**7:14 pm **

"I wish I could hear what Catherine just told Lindsay." Tawny zoomed the camera on the arguing mother and daughter. "She looks pissed."

"Check it out." Bob pointed to TV-4. "Someone's entering the confessional."

Tawny hit the speaker phone button. "Irving!" She was thrilled to see her favorite bouncer from the old days.

"Hey, Miss Kansas!" Making himself comfortable, Irving waved at the image of Tawny on the screen.

"I look just slightly different than when you first saw me at the club when I was seventeen, huh?"

"The hospital gown provides a little more coverage, yeah." He laughed with his old friend. "Did Chuckles tell you about my new job?"

"Yep. Congrats, I know you're gonna be great."

"I have plenty of time on my hands now that I'm without a girlfriend again."

Scott and Bob clanked drink cups, both hoping for some dirt.

"Aww." Tawny compassionately encouraged her old pal, "You'll find someone else."

"I don't know, Miss K. First my fiancée returns my ring a week before the wedding and now Sofia moves out only weeks after moving in. I'm getting worse at the boyfriend thing, not better."

"You're such a sweet guy."

"That's your problem right there, buddy." Bob, a four-time loser in love, scoffed, "Chicks say they want a nice guy, but deep down, they want a bad-ass."

"Who just said that?" Irving only saw Tawny on the screen. "I thought it was just you and me."

"It's you, me, Greg's dad and Bob the camera guy."

"Oh."

"You're in good company, pal. We've all been losers in love, Irving," Scott Sanders empathized with his personal trainer. "At least you didn't invest thirty-five years of your life in a marriage full of lies and deceit."

"True," the heartbroken man agreed. "But I really thought Sofia was the one. I thought she was into me, you know?"

"How was the sex?" Bob queried, feeling for the stranger. "Because I thought things were going great with my last girlfriend until one night, while I was basking in the afterglow and thinking she enjoyed it as much as me, she reached into her nightstand and pulled out a battery-operated man. Then she handed it over and said 'You weren't enough for me, so how about you keep going with this?"

"Ouch!" Tawny gaped at the sweet camera guy. "Jeeeeeez, you think she would have just excused herself to the bathroom and taken care of business on the sly like most women do in that situation."

"They do?" the three men replied in surprise.

Bob sighed, "I thought you girls just had to pee after."

"Uh." She pointed to TV-2. "Look! I think the dancing is about to start!"

**Drew's House **

**7:21 pm **

"Because I know a lot of you city folk don't know how to two-step…" With the microphone in hand, Nick walked onto the stage where his cousin's wedding band, Thunderheart, was ready to go. "I hired four dance instructors to help y'all out. If you learn tonight, you'll have time to practice before you get to dance again at my wedding. Now I know that some of you are rollin' your eyes…Sara and Gris, nice **buttons** by the way…but you should give it a try. You may find out that you're a little bit country after all."

"I'm all rock-n-roll, Baby!" Catherine exclaimed. "But I'll give it a shot."

"There's the spirit!" Nick winked at his co-worker. "Before the dancin' begins though, I want to thank everyone for comin' here tonight to help me celebrate Carrie's birthday." Grinning at the guest of honor who was beaming a smile from the dance floor, he said, "My entire family made the trip except for Amy and Karen, who are both too pregnant to travel. All of our friends and co-workers…Lord knows you LVPD and DA's Office people needed an excuse to cut loose after the week we just had." As the cheers died down, he added, "The bar is open and there's a buffet set up poolside. Indulge yourself, the tab's on me. Detective Vartann has set up a breathalyzer at the front door and we have taxis out front if you need one."

"I love you, Nicky!" Standing next to Heather, who was decked in black leather chaps, Jim raised his beer bottle. "That's why you're a great CSI, Stokes…you think of everything!"

"Thank you, Jim." Nick pointed into the crowd. "I've got people comin' around with champagne for the grown-ups and Shirley Temple's for the kids. So, if you would grab a glass and join me in toasting the guest of honor." He motioned, "Come on up here, Sweetheart."

"Get out your hankies!" Paul warned the crowd of a hundred, a quarter of which were part of the Stokes family.

"Would you leave him alone already!" Carrie chided her brother as she climbed the three steps to join her fiancé.

Catherine turned to Grissom and Sara. "Fifty bucks says Nicky cries."

"Sucker bet." Sara grabbed a Shirley Temple. "You're going to have to find someone who doesn't know him to take that action."

Holding his fiancée's hand, Nick began, "This amazing lady standing to my right."

"She's on your left, Stokes!" Warrick yelled while shaking his head.

"**My** right, ya Bozo!" When Carrie whispered 'I really am on your left', Nick changed places. "As I was sayin'…this amazing lady to my right has been through a lot this year, all thanks to me. For that reason, I wanted to spoil her rotten on her birthday. I also had this crazy idea that since we already have our marriage license and since everybody's here, that she might agree to tie the knot right here, right now. What do you say, Darlin'?!"

"Fat chance," Carrie boomed into the microphone before laughing. "I've been planning our wedding for six months and dieting to fit into my dress, so you're going to have to wait two more months, Tex."

"It was worth a shot." Nick stole a kiss before raising his glass of bubbly. "Happy Birthday, Carrie!"

"Happy Birthday, Carrie!" the crowd cheered in reply.

"Thank you!"

Drew snatched the microphone from his hand. "And I want to thank everyone for comin' to my home. Please make yourselves comfortable." Throwing an arm around his brother's shoulders, Drew said, "I asked Nicky if it would be okay if I stole the spotlight for a moment. He said no, but I never listen to him."

"Very true!" Nick gave him a shove. "But then he told me what he wanted to say and I was thrilled. I told Carrie about it right after we yelled surprise and she's happy to share her special night with someone she's come to love like a sister."

Drew smiled at Marta, who was standing next to his parents. "Nicky's not the only one who met the love of his life this year. I fell head over heels for the girl next door. Y'all had a chance to meet Marta when we were holed up in the billiards room. Isn't she great?"

Marta blushed to a deep red as the crowd cheered for her.

"Yeah, I think so too." Drew reached into his pocket. "That's why I'm hopin' she'll say 'yes' when I pop the question tonight."

"What?!" Marta clutched her chest as the crowd riled around her. "Did you just..."

"Come on!" Cassie grabbed her nanny's hand, tugging her toward the stage.

Dropping to one knee, he declared, "Marta Jean Muller, I'm a changed man thanks to you. I'm sure my mama would agree that's a good thing."

"Not to mention a miracle!" Jillian heckled while readying a Kleenex.

When Marta was standing before him crying tears of joy, Drew took her hand. "Surprise! It's not just a birthday party, Honey."

"Oh my gosh." She covered her mouth. "I'm speechless."

"You can't be!" Cassie implored, "then you won't be able to say 'yes'."

"It's okay, she can nod, Sweetie," Drew assured his daughter before continuing. "Marta, you once told me that one of your greatest accomplishments in life was earning enough money to fulfill your dying brother's dream…taking a family trip to Alaska. I hope that one of my greatest accomplishments in life is making you happy for the rest of yours. Here, in front of my family and our friends, I want to say…Marta Jean Muller, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife and a stepmother to my children, who have loved you from the day they were born."

"She nodded!" Cassie shrieked. "I saw her! She nodded, Daddy!"

"Yes," Marta managed to squeak as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Wearing an uncontainable grin, Drew slipped the heart-shaped ring on her finger. "The salesman at the jewelry store told me to pick a ring that reminded me of you. You're all heart, Marta. Anyone who doesn't see how pure and wonderful you are is blind." Once the ring was in place, he kissed it. "Thank you."

"Told ya you'd be cryin'!" Cassie jumped up and down clapping. "We're gonna be a family!"

With Tony's arms wrapped around her, Becca dabbed her tears with a tissue. "Being a psychic, I knew she was going to say yes, but it was still very moving."

Turning off the camera so Tawny wouldn't hear, Greg breathed a colossal sigh of relief in front of Becca. "I'll sleep better now that SuperStud is a happily betrothed and no longer hot for my wife."

"He's still hot for her," Becca blurted. When she saw her friend's stunned reaction, she laughed, "He's human, Hoj. Come on, what guy here, besides the gay ones, doesn't think Tawny is hot? Hell, what woman?" When she saw her husband and Greg not making eye contact, she huffed, "Would you two kiss and make up already! You're the two most important men in my life and I will not have you not talking to each other. Whatever it was you fought about, it **can't** be more important than making **me** happy! What the hell did you fight about anyway?"

"It was business, nothing personal." Staring at Greg, Tony answered, "We disagreed on my handling of a murder suspect."

"Is that all?"

"Yes," both men answered for Becca's sake.

"Lying!" She pointed a finger at each. "You also fought over me. Hoj you made a disparaging remark about me and humiliated Tony in front of his crew."

"How did you…"

"**Now **do you believe I'm psychic?" She neglected to share that Sara had told her about the fight. "By the time I return from powdering my nose, you better be buddies again."

"Fine," Tony huffed in Greg's face. "I know I'm jaded. And I know I can be an asshole to suspects, but since the law says 'innocent until proven guilty', maybe I should be just a little less of a prick just in case one day I'm wrong about someone…although I doubt that will ever happen. How's that?"

"Honestly? It's a pretty pathetic apology." Greg sighed, "But it's fitting, because I don't deserve a better one. I never should have called you out in front of your subordinates. You're jaded because you've been on the job for sixteen years. I make mistakes because I've only been in the field for nine months. I can learn a lot from you and you've been doing a great job whipping me into shape. I'm sorry for embarrassing you and for comparing Becca to a cold blooded killer."

"Thanks, and I promise to be a little more sensitive about the whole…gay thing."

"The gay thing," Greg chuckled. "Hey, if you really mean that, you'll go to see Brokeback Mountain. Becks was coming with me, Daniel and Wade. Or are you too scared to be seen watching that movie in a crowded theater?"

Right as he was about to scream 'hell yes', Tony remembered he was rich and that movie theaters allowed you to pay for private showings of films. "No, I'm not scared. We'll go see it. I'll even pay."

"Okay." Greg thrust out his hand. "So, we're buddies again, right?"

"Buddies." Tony shook on it. "I will have to knock you on your ass 'accidentally' in front of the guys when we're playing Bball at the gym tomorrow though. You know, to save face in front of the guys."

"Understood." Greg nodded.

Stepping close, he whispered, "I'll let you know it's coming, so you can fake it. Just fall and wince in pain for a minute while I laugh, okay?"

"That's so ridiculous."

"Isn't it?" Tony laughed with his pal. "But we're still gonna do it, because if we don't, they'll keep harassing me with gay jokes. I'd much rather return to the good old days when they were saying you were hot for Stokes."

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**7:46 pm **

"Sofia has a really funny look on her face," Tawny declared as she watched TV-1. "Distant, don't you think?" When she didn't get a reply, she realized the men were gaping at a hot chick dancing on TV-2. "Hello?!"

The men forced their eyes off the woman's ample breasts. "Yes?"

"Wipe your drool."

**Drew's House **

**8:07 pm **

"Hey, Nick." Sofia forced a smile. Leaning against the bar, she told him, "I wanted to say thank you for inviting me, it's a great party, but I'm going to head out."

"Already?"

"Yeah."

"Is it because Irving is here?"

"Enjoy your party and don't worry about it."

"Let me walk you out."

"You don't have to…" Before she could finish her protest, he was guiding her by the elbow. "Okay."

"Come this way." Nick led her into the house.

"Why are we going upstairs?"

"We need to talk." He threw open the guest room door and once they were both inside, he locked it. "Sof, I know how you feel about me."

"You do?" Snapping to anger, she blasted, "Sara told you what I said!"

"What? No." Stepping forward he quietly shared, "I can see it in your eyes whenever we're together. You still want me."

"I…no, you…dammit." She plopped onto the edge of the bed. "For the record, I want the** old** you."

"That's just it, what's in your head is a fantasy." He took a seat next to her. "I have a solution to your problem."

"Really?"

"We merge fantasy into reality, and when it's not nearly as good as you recall, you're cured."

"You mean…" Her words were cut off when Nick covered her mouth with his. "I can't believe you…"

"Shh," he instructed upon coming up for a breath. "We need closure."

"If we need closure, why are you **opening **my blouse?"

"Just shut up and take your clothes off, Curtis."

"Aww," she panted while frantically stripping. "I used to love it when you'd say that to me. What about protection?"

Nick snapped his fingers. "Done." He pointed to the perfectly positioned prophylactic.

"I don't remember that trick from when we…OH!" She gripped his shoulders. "That trick I vividly remember. Hello, stranger. Welcome back."

"I won't be stayin'."

"I know."

"But I promise to give it my all while I'm here." Grinning he asked, "I don't remember you bein' this flexible."

"Yeah, well…" She rolled her eyes, "Irving made me do pilates every morning." As Nick tucked her feet behind her ears, she suddenly saw the benefits of a regular fitness routine. "Holy shit, my legs rotate like I'm a Barbie doll. I bet Carrie can't do this."

"No, but she's got plenty of other moves."

"Does she…"

"Like a pro. I'm sorry, Sof, but I'm never gonna leave her."

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"That reminds me…is the spell broken yet?" Nick rasped in his ex-lover's ear, "Have you stopped wantin' me?"

"Harder!"

"I'll take that as a no." He snickered, "Turn around and see if this helps."

"I'm going to burn in hell for this," she declared while following orders. "Better. Yes! That's it, Stokes, make me forget you…but take your time."

"Sofia…"

"Not yet."

"Sofia!" Sara snapped her fingers in front of her co-worker's face. "For a second, I thought you were catatonic."

Realizing that she had been sinfully fantasizing about a non available man, Sofia cleared her throat and grabbed her empty glass. "No, there's definitely something wrong with me."

"You look flushed. Are you sick?"

"I…no." Sofia pointed towards the house. "I need to…I'll be back."

**Desert Springs Hospital **

**8:32 pm **

"Welcome back!" Tawny greeted her husband when she saw him pop up in the confessional. "Were you off celebrating Drew's engagement?"

Raising a shot glass, he snickered, "As a matter of fact, I was."

"You're drunk, Chuckles."

"No, but I'm getting there. I'm just following my boss's orders, Princess. Nick told me I've been too tense." Wiping his mouth, Greg asked, "Are you guys having fun?"

**Drew's House**

**8:37 pm **

"Look how much fun Sean is having, Carrie." Wendy hugged her sister-in-law. "Thank you for going back to work. If you hadn't, we'd still be homeschooling Sean and he never would have met Rachelle. Oh, sorry…you only went back because you lost the baby and that was really not a nice thing to remind you of on…"

"It's okay." After waving to her fiancé, who was forcing Sara to dance with him, Carrie shared, "I'm really doing well, Sis. Nicky and I have never been more in love." Watching her father escort his date to the bar, she smiled. "Dad never would have met Marjorie Demcak if I didn't lose the baby. He's smiled more this month than he has in all the year's since Mom died combined." Waving to her father, she sweetly sighed, "You can find the good in anything if you look hard enough. I told Nicky that on our first date when he asked me how I could speak so openly about my abuse. He was skeptical, but not anymore. We're committed to making lemonade out of every lemon we're handed."

"I've yet to find the good in Mike Rodgers being out of prison," Wendy scoffed. "Care to make me a glass of lemonade out of that one?"

"You can't squeeze the lemon before it's time." Carrie polished off her drink. "It's like grapes and wine. You have to wait until the time is right, but not too long, because then the juice is too bitter."

"You're drunk, aren't you?"

"Quite." Carrie hugged her sister-in-law. "I love you, Wendy. Thank you for being such a great sister-in-law."

"I love you too, Honey."

"Speaking of loving." Carrie whispered, "I think another Blake has fallen for another Stokes." She pointed. "Ryan can't stop gaping at Jessie."

"Celine stopped emailing him last week."

"Aww."

"She wrote and said that she was really busy at her new school and with her new family and that writing to him just made her think of the past and she wanted to move forward." Wendy shrugged. "I thought it was a nice email, but Paul thought she was a bitch."

**Desert Palms Hospital **

**8:47 pm **

"Do you see the bitch in the red tank shirt?" Becca asked as she settled into the confessional for the third time that evening.

Watching the dance floor action on TV-2, Scott and Tawny asked, "Who is she?"

"Is Bob there?" she asked, unsure as to why.

"No," Scott replied, "he's picking up a pizza from the restaurant across the street."

"She's Tina Marchello, one of Carrie's co-workers. She just asked Tony if we would be interested in partying with some other couples later. It's the third time she's hounded us since the LVPD banquet. Apparently, her husband gets off on doing other guy's pregnant wives, is that gross or what?!"

"Ewwww!"

"Exactly!" Becca sipped her Shirley Temple after rolling her eyes. "There are some real freaks in the DA's Office. I totally had this psychic vision about this Steve Ogden guy. I shook his hand when Carrie introduced us and I had this flash. I saw him in his underwear clutching a photograph as he cried and the cops handcuffed him. I'm thinking he's into child porn and is hiding behind the ADA thing so no one will suspect him. I told Tony, but he said they can't investigate him based on a psychic's hunch and that I can't say anything without proof, because it would be slander."

"Are you getting a lot of these visions lately, Honey?" Scott queried while winking at Tawny.

"Ever since the pregnancy. Grandma Olaf said that her powers didn't come into full force until she was pregnant. I guess it's working the same way with me."

"I see." Scott mouthed to his daughter-in-law 'she needs to up her meds'.

"There you are, Becks." With a good buzz going, Tony took a seat on the confessional bench next to his wife. "Bless me father for I have sinned, it's been four days since my last confession." As Tawny and Scott laughed, he continued, "I took the Lord's name in vain six times, and had impure thoughts about my wife this morning when she was dancing naked in the kitchen. I'm too embarrassed to tell you all the details, but it had something to do with beating her ass with a wooden spoon while she licked cake batter off a certain body part of mine. I know it's really unhealthy to eat raw batter, so I thought I should confess the fantasy."

**Drew's Bedroom**

**9:04 pm **

Hanging up the phone, Marta let go of her fantasy. "Our engagement hasn't changed anything." Slipping into Drew's arms, she sniffled, "You heard me, I told him how special the proposal was…that your whole family had flown out here for the occasion, but…he said he still doesn't approve of how I've been living and he doesn't want me to marry you."

"I'm sorry, Honey." Drew held her tight. "Maybe the wedding…"

"I'm not sending anyone in my family an invitation."

"What?"

"If they can't support me after everything I sacrificed for my brother and the family…" Wiping her tears, she swallowed her emotions and clung to her pride. "They don't deserve my respect. I'm done, Drew. I've made every effort. I've been respectful of their beliefs and feelings, but I'm drawing the line. They're going to have to come to me if they want a relationship in the future. I'm going to put all that in a letter and mail it tomorrow. I've shed the last tear over this. I know in my heart, I'm not wrong."

"Wow." Pushing out a smile he sweetly said, "You can really tell you've been hangin' around my mother. You sounded just like Jillian 'Take No Prisoners' Stokes."

"That's a high compliment."

"Honey, I hope you're still up for a beautiful wedding. You've already lost so much, I'd feel awful if you gave up your dream of a flowing white dress and a walk down the aisle."

"Oh, I'm having the wedding," she confidently replied. "With my new family there to support me. I'd like to ask Carrie to be my Maid of Honor since your brother will be your best man. Do you think she'll say yes?"

"She'll be thrilled." Drew wiped his fiancée's damp cheeks. "Because she likes you…and because she'll have an excuse to go shoe shopping." After a bittersweet laugh, he said, "I was doin' so research on the Internet last night and how does a cruise sound for our honeymoon? I found out that we could rent a luxury suite on the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship. It's huge, like four thousand square feet, with three bedrooms and a dedicated staff. We could bring the kids, but have plenty of time alone with a babysitter on call. How does that sound?"

"Perfect, just like your proposal, my ring and the way you love me." She glanced down at the diamond. "We need to set a wedding date."

"How about April 8th? It's far enough after Nicky's wedding and before he and Carrie adopt the baby in June. Cassie's school will be on spring break, so she'll only miss a few days at most."

"April 8th it is."

"Terrific." He paused for a lingering kiss. "We'll start making plans first thing tomorrow."

"Thank you for making more of my dreams come true."

"Ditto." Resting his forehead on hers, Drew whispered, "I kinda wish we didn't have to get back to the party right now."

"I know what you mean, Cowboy."

**Desert Palms Hospital**

**9:54 pm **

"Save a horse, ride a cowboy!" Catherine sang along with the crowd as she danced to the Big & Rich song with Warrick. "Is it just me or is this song giving you ideas too?"

"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to sneak off and christen other people's houses anymore because we're responsible adults who have to set a good example for our teenage daughter." Breathing heavy in her ear, he reminded, "We said we were going to fight our addiction to sex in inappropriate places, remember? Hmm? But say the word and I'll enable you, Baby."

_Well I don't give a dang about nothing_

_I'm singing and bling-blanging, while the girls drink long-necks down…_

"Bartender!" Sofia set her empty Amstel bottle on the counter. "I'm ready for another. Throw in a shot of tequila too."

"I'll have what she's having." Irving slid onto the open stool next to his ex-lover.

"But you don't do shots," she reminded her fitness-conscious ex-boyfriend.

"That was the old me." Smirking, he said, "People change. The new and improved Irving Jones realizes that life's too short not to party every now and then. I'll just run a few extra miles tomorrow night to make up for extra booze."

"Interesting."

Locking on Sofia's sparkling eyes, Irving softly asked, "Did Nick tell you about my new job?"

"Yes, he did actually. I can't imagine anyone more suited for the job. Congratulations."

"Thank you." After a steadying breath, he shared, "I'm going to dedicate myself to that Community Center and the kids. I think…I think I might be like Oprah."

"What?" Sofia's chuckle rose over the music. "I mean I know you keep Oprah on the TV for your female clients, but…now you're becoming her? You don't mean that in the surgical sense, do you?"

"Hardly. No, what I mean is…she helps a ton of kids, but she doesn't have any of her own. People ask her all the time why she never had kids if she loves them so much, and she replies that it's her calling to help children and if she had her own, maybe she wouldn't have the time to do all the great work that she's doing. That's what I'm thinking. I should have died when I was stupid kid in a gang. I think I was spared for a reason, to run the Jamal Jones Community Center and save thousands of kids in my lifetime. Maybe I don't need kids of my own when I've got thousands in need of a father figure."

"You didn't by any chance have an eye-opening conversation with Sara today, did you?"

Picking up the two shots the bartender had placed on the counter, he smirked, "I vaguely remember conversing with her, yeah." Handing over the glass, he lovingly said, "I'm really sorry, Sof. I shouldn't have assumed you wanted kids or could have them. For all I know because of the drugs I did when I was young and stupid, maybe I can't have them either. In any case, I meant what I said about the center filling the void."

"So what does all that mean exactly?" She accepted the drink from his trembling hand.

"It means I know I scared you off with the kid talk, and I know I was a little too hyper for you sometimes, but I'd really love a second chance. Not living together, just dating…no pressure, just some fun." He raised his shot glass. "What do you say?"

"I…well…what could it hurt?" Tapping her glass to his, her lips spread into a smile. "To second chances."

_And I saddle up my horse and I ride into the city_

_I make a lot of noise, because the girls they are so pretty_

"She's a total **dog**," Lindsay grumped on her cell phone. Talking to her friend Staci, she tore apart Rachelle, "He's out there on the dance floor and every time he sees me, he's **pretending** to be into her. Just to make me jealous, which I'm not. Not at all. Not an ounce. As if. He wishes."

"Really? Because you sound** totally **jealous."

"Some friend you are!" Lindsay snapped her phone closed. "I am **so** taking her off my Top Four as soon as I log into MySpace tonight." Glancing around she looked for her parents. "Where did they go?"

_And the girls say…_

"In here!" Catherine tugged Warrick into the guest house. "Find the bedroom," she panted.

"Over here. It's open." In the dark, they stumbled into a room and shut the door.

"It's been far too long since we did this." She worked open his belt in record time. "Thank god I wore a skirt."

His fingers coiled around Catherine's thong and seconds later it was flying through the air. "Now do like the song says, Baby."

_Save a horse, ride a cowboy!_

Watching Carrie dirty dancing with Nick, Steve tasted the bile rising in his throat. It was repulsive, the way she was grinding against him in public…drunk. Her immoral fiancé had turned her into a lush and a harlot. It was a travesty and he couldn't wait to save her from the damned life she was leading. She was compromising herself a little more of her soul each day, all to please a sinful man who was completely unworthy of her love and affection.

_I'm a thorough-bred that's what she said in the back of my truck bed…_

"So good!" Catherine dug her nails into Warrick's broad shoulders as they crashed onto the bed and rolled.

"Uh, Cath…"

"Yes?" she inhaled sharply.

"We're not alone in this bed."

"What?"

When Warrick clicked on the bedside lamp, he saw a large, body-sized lump under the covers.

"I blame the pregnancy hormones," Becca giggled under the blankets. "What's your excuse?"

"My wife seduced me," Warrick deadpanned. "She's insatiable."

"I feel your pain, man," Tony empathized from under the comforter. "We're talking two, three times a day, and she won't take no for an answer."

"Aww." Catherine sniffled, "You poor babies."

"We were in the corner when we heard you come in," Becca informed the intruders. "Our strategy was to jump under the covers and stay quiet until you wrapped things up, but then you decided to roll onto the bed and bump into us."

Tony reminded his wife, "That's why I suggested ducking into the bathroom instead."

"Your pants were around your ankles, Honey, we never would have made it in time."

"So how do we want to handle this?" Catherine asked as laughter consumed her. "Because we're not finished."

"Either are we," Becca replied. "And we were here first, so unless you don't mind having an audience…buh bye. We're not budging."

Warrick laughed along with his wife, "This reminds me of something that happened to me in college one night. I was on the top bunk with my girl when my roommate staggered in drunk with his date and started goin' at it with her in the bunk below. That girl sounded like an angry cat when she…"

"Shh!" Catherine heard her daughter calling for her and panicked. "It's Lindsay! Quick! Get under the covers, Warrick! Becca, you do the talking."

"Mom?!" Lindsay entered the room. "Are you…"

"It's Becca, can you please go away, I'm…sick! Whatever you do, don't move the blankets, because I'll catch another chill."

Seeing the lumps in the bed, Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Aren't the people under the covers with you worried about catching your germs?"

"It's just my husband and…extra pillows."

"I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks!"

"Have you seen my parents?"

"Nope."

"That's funny, because my father's jeans are on the floor."

"Uh…I heard some of the guys say they were going streaking, maybe he…"

"There's a woman's thong too."

"Uh…maybe your father crossdresses?"

"Give it up!" Lindsay yelled at the bed lump. "I know you're under there Mom and Dad! You know that lecture on morals you two gave me the other day, maybe you should give it to yourself! I can't believe you guys are into swapping! That's so totally nasty!"

"We're not swappers, Linds!" Catherine protested. "We **literally** bumped into them when we came in here to…uh…catch the sports scores on ESPN."

"You just lectured me for the tenth time about lying to Sean about Colin and you have the nerve to lie to me! You're such a hypocrite, Mom. You're pathetic! Just wait until I tell Dr. Myers about this!"

"Don't you think you're being a** little** melodramatic?" Becca posited. "She's married and engaging in legal relations with her spouse, not banging the poolboy behind your daddy's back like my slut of a mother did when I was three…and four…and five."

Tony covered his wife's mouth a little too late. "Why didn't you predict this debacle, Madame Becks, and spare us?"

"Hypocrites!" Fired up, Lindsay marched out of the guest house, made a beeline for the party tent, and then yelled at the top of her lungs, "If anyone is looking for my parents, **Catherine Willows** and **Warrick Brown**, you'll have to wait, because the hypocrites are busy having dirty nasty swap sex in the guest house with the Vartanns. That's pretty irresponsible and immoral for parents of an impressionable teenage daughter, don't you think?!"

_What? What?_

While everyone gasped in horror, Tina Marchello grabbed her husband's hand, making a mad dash for the pool house.

"Which bedroom?" Katie tipsily asked the teen. "Blue or pink?"

"Blue!"

"Ewwww." Katie dropped her head onto her partner's shoulder and whispered, "If I wanted sperm in my bed I'd sleep with men."

_Everybody says…_

_Save a horse, ride a cowboy!_

Tina Marchello blasted Vartann as he was buttoning his pants, "Surrrrrrrrre you're not into mixers anymore, Tony. You could have just told me you weren't attracted to me anymore. It's my tits, right?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned to her husband. "That's it. I'm getting them redone. They're droopy."

"I don't think they're droopy," Becca confirmed. "I was thinking lopsided."

"Wait!" Catherine asked in a panic, "How did you know we were in here?"

"Your daughter told **everyone** that you and Warrick were in here having cheap sex with the Vartanns."

**Desert Palms Hospital **

**10:03 pm **

"I can't believe Lindsay said that!" Tawny was still in shock. "To **everyone**!"

"I'm stunned," Scott chimed in. "Although I can completely understand the urge to slip into bed with Catherine, I've had that fantasy myself. Uh…did I say that out loud?"

"Yes!" Tawny giggled, "I was thinking the same about Warrick though, so I won't harass you. Tony's a pudge, maybe Becca was craving some..."

"A pudge?" Scott asked in surprise. "Are you kidding me? The guy is in great shape."

"I'm talking about his…you know. All girth, not length. Not that there's anything wrong with that, most women prefer a pudge over a pencil, especially if they have a petite frame and I'll stop talking now," she giggled and covered her mouth. "For a sec, I thought I was chillin' with my gal pals."

"Hey, wanna know a secret?" Bob grabbed the remote. "I had the foresight to put a camera in the guest house."

"You did not!" Tawny shrieked. "Isn't that like a total invasion of privacy?"

"Nope." Shaking his head, Bob explained, "We have signs posted at the entrance of the house warning all guests that multiple cameras are in place and that the event is being recorded. We do the same thing for weddings now to cover our asses."

**Drew's House **

**10:05 pm **

Yanking on her thong in the bathroom, Catherine steamed, "I can't believe she did that to us!"

"She does have a valid point, Cath."

"How the hell are we going to prove we weren't having sex with the Vartanns!?"

Warrick answered like a CSI, "DNA?"

"Get your kit." Catherine threw open the bedroom door. "Becca! Tony! We need DNA samples STAT!"

**Lady Heather's Dominion**

**10:10 pm **

"You have to hurry, Lady H!" Ellie yelled into the phone. "They had a warrant. I had no choice, I had to let them in."

"Unbelievable. Don't these people have anything better to do than to hunt for evidence of sexual misconduct?" Heather barked, "You tell them that they can look all they want, but they won't find evidence of sex!"

**Drew's House **

**10:25 pm **

"We were not having sex with the Vartanns, Lindsay," Catherine heatedly whispered to her daughter as she dragged her into the guest house. "I can't believe you went out there and announced that we were." She pointed to Tony and Becca, who were sitting on the couch wishing they were elsewhere. "You apologize to Detective and Mrs. Vartann for embarrassing them in front of their co-workers."

"**I** embarrassed them? They're the ones who took their clothes off at a party with a hundred guests!"

Mortified by her daughter's behavior, Catherine turned to her friends, "She's mad at me and taking it out on you. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, really." Becca jumped to her feet. "I thought I locked the door, it's my fault. Tony and I should have shown more restraint. We had a really stressful week and were cutting loose, thinking that once we have children, we wouldn't be able to act like teenagers anymore, because we'd have to be uber-responsible parents."

"Having a kid never stopped my mother from acting like a horny teenager," Lindsay snarked. "Before she hooked up with Warrick, she brought a different guy home every weekend."

"Enough!" Warrick blasted his step daughter. "This is a family issue, so let's keep it that way. Your mother and I didn't call you out as a liar in front of your friends, did we? No, we've only talked to you in private." Then he turned to Tony and Becca, "I'm really sorry, I hope this doesn't cause you any problems."

"Doubtful." Tony took Becca's hand and hurried for the door. "Scandal is relative when ADA Marchello is the mixer club president and the Crime Lab Director is dating Lady Heather. Have a good night, guys."

Once outside, Becca whispered, "And I thought I was a bitchy teenager. Yeesh!"

"What the hell?" Seeing a uniformed officer walking toward the tent, Tony released Becca's hand and rushed over. "Benson! What's going on?"

"We got an anonymous call saying there was an orgy going on with minors present. The caller specifically said that Lindsay Willows, daughter of CSIs Willows and Brown was crying out for help because her parents were neglecting her to have group sex. Child Services is en route."

"Are you shittin' me?"

"Nope." When the cop saw LVPD and DA's Office personnel milling about, he grimaced, "This is going to be pretty friggin' embarrassing."

"Not if you keep it low key."

"I would, but…"

"Rodgers and Fromansky," Tony cringed when he saw the bastards strolling over wearing gleeful smiles.

"I hope to hell that my innocent stepchildren didn't witness the debauchery," Mike announced as he stepped in front of Vartann. "Then again, that would certainly help Lissa at the child custody hearing." Pointing into the tent he asked, "Is that sweet little Cassie in Nick's arms while he's holding a beer? Do me a favor and snap a picture of that Fromansky."

"Hey!" Tony stepped in front of the camera. "You need to recuse yourself, Officer Rodgers. You're personally involved in a court battle with the Stokes family. That's conflict of interest."

"I tried to tell Dispatch, but there wasn't another unit available to respond. They said I could stand down while Fromansky handled things and waited for backup. Apparently all hell is breaking loose all over the city tonight."

**Lady Heather's Dominion**

**10:31 pm **

"What's going, Ellie?!" Heather demanded upon racing into her establishment. "You didn't tell me there were a dozen squad cars."

"They just got here. The agent called them in when he found…"

"Drugs." Holding up a bag of powder, Agent Tonelli grinned, "Gotcha."

* * *

**Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts on the chapter! **

**Maggs **


	7. Chapter 7

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 7**

**Friday, December 10, 2005**

**Lady Heather's Dominion **

**10:57 pm **

"Thanks for coming, Gil," Brass greeted his most trusted friend from the front steps of the Dominion. "Sorry to pull you away from the party and Sara."

"Not a problem." Grissom glanced up at the familiar building, remembering his one night in Heather's bed with a shudder of regret. "What's going on?"

"Drug bust.

"Ellie?"

"No, thankfully." Jim led the way to a remote corner of the yard. "One of the girls, Macie Thomas, blew the whistle and she's saying that Heather knew about the operation. It's bullshit. She'd never jeopardize this goldmine and..."

When his friend fell silent, Grissom took the liberty of finishing, "And she cares too much about you to engage in criminal activity and ruin things?"

"Something like that, yeah." Stuffing his hands deeply in his pockets, Jim sighed, "This Macie bitch is saying that Heather was going to include Ellie in the operation when the time was right, that Ellie's history and connections were the reason she hired her in the first place. She told Vice that it was proving tricky, because Ellie was committed to her recovery and I was hovering and watching her every move. Speaking of me, she's told them that Heather is only with me as a cover and because she hoped her association with me would keep the police away. Her exact words were 'Jim Brass is a horny old bastard who is too desperate to realize he's being used'." He shrugged, "She got the old and horny parts right for what it's worth. The rest though…"

**Drew's Home Office**

**11:09 pm **

"It's all a huge misunderstanding," Vartann informed his boss as they spoke privately in Drew's Office. "Lindsay Willows is worried sick that she's gonna be hauled into foster care. She's retracted everything. You know how fourteen year olds are, Sir. She wanted to get back at her parents because they grounded her for a month for bad behavior. I think it's safe to say she'll never cry wolf again."

"So you weren't engaging in group sex in the guesthouse with your wife and CSIs Willows and Brown?"

"Absolutely not. My wife and I were in there engaging in a legal adult activity when CSIs Willows and Brown wandered in and began engaging in a legal adult activity of their own. It was purely coincidence and since the room was dark, they didn't see us. My wife locked the door, but the lock isn't functioning properly, so when the kid took a walk…"

"Because she couldn't find the parents who were supposed to be watching her."

Vartann shrugged, "They were still on the property, it's not like they abandoned her. They were…"

"Heavily intoxicated."

"Hell, if it was a crime to drink around your kid, most of LVPD would be losing custody of theirs. No one was in danger, Captain. Willows and Brown took a cab here with their daughter and that's how they planned to go home. Mariah from Child Services has to think it's a joke coming to this palace on a child neglect call. Lindsay's wearing designer jeans and has a Kate Spade bag over her shoulder, for Christ's sake." When he saw Pilson's raised brow he chuckled, "My wife is a fashionista, I'm starting to recognize the brands. That purse is at least two-hundred bucks. If you ask me, I think the girl is spoiled, not neglected, and we both know that spoiled kids tend to act up when they don't get their way. I say we let Mariah get back to helping kids who really need her tonight."

"We still have to consider…" The Captain's cell phone interrupted his reply. "Pilson."

When Tony glanced out the window, he saw Becca with her face pressed to the glass. 'Go away', he mouthed while shooing her with his hands, 'not helping'.

"Lindsay Willows is spoiled alright." Pilson snapped his phone shut. "Sam Braun just read the Sheriff the riot act. This is no longer a police matter."

"Normally that kind of shit would really piss me off."

"Me too." Pilson headed for the door. "But not tonight. What kind of food are they serving?"

"Mexican."

"Guess who just went off duty again?" The Captain checked his watch. "I had to leave my wife in bed for this bullshit, so I'm definitely getting a free meal. She was modeling her new purchase from Victoria's Secret too."

"I'm very sorry, Cap. Please allow me to buy you a beer to wash down your tacos."

"A** premium** beer."

"Yes, Sir."

"Try to stay out of the spotlight for at least a week, Tony."

"Trust me, I'd love to."

"This new wife of yours, she's a pistol, huh?" The Captain laughed. "I bet she made you wear that fugly shirt."

"For the record, she **asked** me to wear it and I only said yes, because she's pregnant with my twins."

"It's okay, I do stupid shit for my wife all the time. She has me by the balls, literally. By the way, Gwen loves what Mrs. Vartann did with the reception area at HQ. She said now when she comes to meet me for lunch, she'll have decent magazines to read while I make her wait."

"Great." Brimming with pride, Tony chuckled, "My wife is a lot to handle, but she does have a knack for making life better."

When they opened the door they found Becca had been standing with her ear pressed to it.

"Yeesh!" She held her pounding chest. "You could have knocked first!"

"Becks, we were exiting the room, not entering."

"Right." She grabbed her husband's hand. "Is he in big trouble, Captain? Because it wasn't his fault, it was mine, all mine. I'm pregnant and very needy," she snickered, "he protested initially, but he doesn't like to upset me since I can't take Xanax anymore; it's bad for the babies. Taking Zoloft makes me lose the urge now and then, so I really can't blame him for taking me up on my offer when I was in the mood. You could call our therapist to verify if…"

"Honey." Tony purposely pressed her flapping lips against the candy ass western shirt he loathed, hoping her lipstick would permanently ruin it. "I'm not in trouble, but if you keep talking…"

"Shutting.".

"Thank you."

**Party Tent**

**11:18 pm**

"You're welcome, Carrie." Steve handed over the ice water he had retrieved for her. "It's probably just all the wine you consumed making your head hurt. That's one of the many reasons why I'm glad I don't drink alcohol."

"No, it's the sight of Mike Rodgers." She raised the glass with a trembling hand. "The idea of that bastard getting custody of Drew's kids is making me sick."

"May I play devil's advocate? From a legal perspective and as a colleague who respects you?"

"Of course."

"I think Mr. Stokes is in trouble here, because if I were representing the children's mother, I'd say that the children never should have been at a party where excess alcohol would be consumed and where adults would be engaging in explicit sexual activities. As a sidenote, I personally would prefer that children were never exposed to what I've seen here tonight. The amount of cleavage Tina Marchello and Catherine Willows are showing is completely inappropriate for a family party. They honestly look like they're wearing lingerie in public. If you don't believe me, look at the teenage boys, they have drool stains on their shirts." When he saw Carrie nervously glance around, he continued to make his case, "I'm a conservative person, you're well aware of that, but do you** really** think children should be dancing to Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy? Willows had no business requesting that song and I'm stunned that the band would play it with minors present. It's a song encouraging women to get drunk and have 'no strings attached' sex with a stranger who has come into town looking to get drunk and find loose women. From the look on your father's face right now, I'd say he would probably agree with me."

Seeing her father's disgusted expression while watching Nick and Drew speak with Mariah from Child Services, she knew Steve was right.

"You know children are my hot button because…because…" After swallowing hard, he finished, "They're God's gift, a blessing, and something I tragically lost. I'm sorry, maybe it's envy fueling me and clouding my judgment, or maybe I'm right."

Reminded of her own loss, Carrie remained silent.

"You know," Steve softly remarked, "a woman I greatly respect once said 'Childhood is precious and far too short. Tragically, it's getting shorter every day in this country, and what a shame it is when innocent children are forced to grow up too fast because of the self-centered adults in their lives'."

"I said that."

"Yes you did." His tension melted. "Shortly after you arrived in Vegas; we were working the Summerville case together." His smile unfurled like a flag in a summer breeze. "You could have heard a pin drop in that courtroom during your closing argument."

"I remember that." Carrie lowered her glass and focused on the lone ice cube in the water. "The jury came back with a verdict in twenty minutes."

"Where has that woman gone?" Steve asked with a hint of melancholy. "I miss her." He immediately flustered, "I'm sorry, very sorry. Here I am embarrassing myself around you again. Why you've changed is none of my business."

"I've changed? What do you mean?"

"No, I…" he gave an anxious laugh. "Honestly, this is growing quite awkward for me."

"Seriously, I want to know. Are other people saying I've changed?"

"Come on, you know how gossipy our co-workers are. They talked about you when you left the DA's office, and then again upon returning." Scratching his head, he nervously forged into delicate territory. "Remember the other day, when Nick stopped by while we were eating Chinese food? Tina saw the two of you leaving your office and joked with everyone that you were going for a quickie in the janitor's closet."

"Unbelievable!" Disgusted by the revelation, Carrie huffed, "I certainly hope they didn't believe her." The look on her co-worker's face said otherwise. "Why on Earth would they believe I would leave my office in the middle of the day to have sex in a closet? I went for **a walk**. I wanted fresh air."

"They believed her because you're Nick Stokes's fiancée and he has a reputation. Patti Sloan and Darla Ribiero slept with him when he was single, and those two just love to share the details of their sexcapades. When Tina cracked the joke, Darla eagerly told the group about the time Nick took her into the closet after they were in trial all afternoon. Then Patti made some comments about him that made even the most skeptical lawyer believe she was probably right about the quickie."

"Did you believe them?"

"About Nick? Absolutely. About you?" He shook his head. "No. I didn't want to believe her."

Watching Judge Stokes lecturing his sons, Carrie's stomach knotted.

"I really thought we'd be fighting over the DA spot one day." Sighing, Steve stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was looking forward to the battle actually, but I'm starting to think there won't be one."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't be a respected public figure and have your name tainted every weekend. I suspect that's what Judge Stokes is probably telling his sons."

**Desert Palms Hospital **

**11:32 pm **

Watching the main TV screen, Tawny said, "Uh oh, it looks like Papa Stokes is reading his boys the riot act…again. He must want to strangle them for another public scene."

"I can't relate," Scott chuckled as he stood to stretch his legs, "My boy is perfect."

**Party Tent **

**11:34 pm **

"Greg." Sara pointed at her friend's feet. "I've been meaning to ask you, what's with the two different shoes? Is that the latest trend or did you get dressed in the dark again?"

"What do you..." He glanced down at his feet. "Oh. Yeah, I was in a rush."

"Speaking of rushes, looks like there's one for the door."

"Carrie's DA co-workers don't want to be seen at a party where cops and protective services are center stage." Greg watched the mass exodus in frustration. "Everyone's favorite bastard, Mike Rodgers, managed to ruin the party with an assist from Lindsay Willows."

"Look at Lindsay now. I'd say she learned her lesson, huh?" Sara watched the rattled teen clinging to Warrick as he soothed her. "Good thing her grandfather owns half the city."

"Hey, maybe now that Rodgers has crossed Sam Braun's path, he'll have him offed."

"Greg! I can't believe you." Sara scowled at her friend before smiling, "Do you think he will? Because Mike's head on a platter is what I asked Santa to bring me for Christmas, what about you?"

"Sara!" Grinning, Greg moved closer. "Imagine 2006 without Mike in it."

"Talk about a Happy New Year." She cleared her throat, "Not that I'm condoning murder."

"No, me either, because it wouldn't be murder."

"Right." Sara shook her head. "Clearly it would be justifiable homicide."

"Exactly." Greg pointed to the opposite side of the tent. "Check this out. Ken Blake looks mighty ticked off."

"His little girl's birthday party was ruined." Sara whispered, "Maybe he'll do the honors, because is it just me, or can you easily envision him snapping and killing anyone who causes Carrie grief?"

"Why else would Nick kiss Carrie's ass twenty-four seven?" Greg joked, "It's not for the sex, because we know she's still on a learning curve in the bedroom."

"You're awful, Sanders."

"Thanks, pot."

"Your good buddy Drew is really pissed too." Sara watched the enraged father steam.

"Looks like we have the makings of a perfect murder mystery." Greg's love of 'whodunnits' fueled his overactive imagination. "Seriously, think of how many people here have a reason for wanting Mike dead. The list is huge."

Disappointment coating her voice, Sara replied, "And that's precisely the reason he'll keep breathing. When everyone knows they'll automatically be on the suspect list, no one makes a move."

"Not that we're condoning murder."

"No, we're just speaking hypothetically."

"While thinking wishfully."

"And sinfully," Sara added. "But I don't believe in hell, so I've got nothing to lose."

**Mike and Lissa's **

**11:41 pm **

"We're going to win custody for sure," Don Schultz announced from the couch as he watched the live feed from the Stokes residence. "How much do you love me for getting this feed?"

"How did you pull that off anyway?" Lissa asked, while taking a seat next to the devious lawyer.

"I have someone keeping tabs on the Stokes boys. When they informed me the party would be televised for Tawny, I checked out the guys hired to do the video feed. One of the guys, Bob, is in debt up to his eyeballs thanks to a little gambling problem he had upon turning twenty-one last year. Money talks, my dear, and when a guy is desperate for cash, it screams."

Clutching a fresh Cosmopolitan, she purred, "I'm very impressed."

"You haven't heard the best part," Don snickered. "Even though he was raised by lawyers, Drew Stokes was stupid enough to sign the documents Bob presented from his company without reading the fine print. You know, he thought Bob was a nice college kid, trying to put himself through school, which is true actually. According to the fine print, Bob's company, AV Unlimited, is entitled to keep a copy of anything recorded, to use as they see fit. Can you guess what Bob intends to do with his copy?"

"Hand it over to us?"

"Wow, you're pretty quick for a vapid supermodel," Shultz cackled. "I think that footage of McKenna Blake and Cassie Stokes dancing to Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy next to slutified Catherine Willows grinding against Warrick Brown will play very nicely in the courtroom, especially when coupled with the sexcapades taped in the guest house bedroom and Lindsay Willows passionately declaring her parents were too busy having an orgy to supervise her. Oh, and I really love the part with your dear son, Matt Stokes, bringing a beer bottle to his mouth."

"Matt picked that up thinkin' it was a root beer bottle. He's done that at every BBQ the Stokes have ever thrown. He takes a sniff, makes a face and puts it down."

"Luckily the camera panned away before the kid realized his mistake."

"What a sweet boy," Lissa proudly declared, "helpin' his mama make his daddy's life miserable. I've been thinkin' about full custody though. I don't want it. I'm havin' far too much fun to have my children around this tiny house twenty-four/seven."

"Why am I not surprised?" Don cracked open a fresh beer. "Let me guess, you have a new idea."

"I do." After sipping her Cosmo, she snuggled up to the sleazy attorney. "Are you ready to hear it?"

**Party Tent**

**11:48 pm **

"Let's hear it," Warrick positioned his daughter in front of Carrie and Nick.

"I'm very sorry for causing so much trouble at your party and for making problems for your brother, Nick. I hope you can forgive me. I promise to do lots of volunteer hours at BPAC Center when it opens."

"Forgiven." Carrie hugged the remorseful girl. "We know those weren't your intentions. You weren't the only one exercising some bad judgment tonight, and who hasn't done something they regretted the next morning, right?" She shot Nick a glance. "Right?"

"Absolutely." Nick nodded at Lindsay. "You're in good company." Glancing up at Warrick he added, "**Very **good company."

"I'm sorry, man." Warrick contritely said, "I locked the door, but we figured out too late that it's not latching properly. We feel terrible."

"Yeah, there's a lot of that goin' around." Nick saw his family of legal experts huddled around Drew, who was still panicking over the custody implications. "I think we'll all feel better tomorrow after some sleep."

"Yeah, we're gonna head out as soon as Catherine is done powdering her nose." Feeling guilty, Warrick pointed to the house. "I think we'll wait for her inside."

**The Blue Guest House Bedroom…Where, Much to the Chagrin of the Lesbian Occupants, Four Horny Heteros Had Wantonly and Selfishly Left Their DNA While Pursuing Love on the Sly **

**11:59 pm **

"I saw fresh sheets in the bathroom closet," Katie Stokes announced when she saw her germphobic partner, Jean, staring at the rumpled bedding.

"We could just sleep in the pepto-pink flower room."

"I'll get the sheets."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Tugging the fitted sheet from the mattress, Jean asked, "How much did you want to remind your father that, once again, it's the straight couples engaging in shameless sexual behavior?"

"I can still taste blood from biting my tongue!"

"I guess I'm not getting lucky tonight."

Laughing with her mate as she returned with the fresh linens, Katie said, "I decided to cut Judge Stokes some slack and be the supportive daughter."

"Paying it forward is always a good strategy."

"Yeah, and Christmas is only two weeks away." Unfurling the clean fitted sheet, Katie chuckled, "According to Barbara, we're getting a top-notch espresso maker."

"Oooh!"

"Exactly!

A knock on the door halted the couple's laughter.

"It's Nicky. Are you…"

"Don't come in!" Katie yelled in a panicked voice, "We're naked and doing the hot nasty in here! Oh wait, I'm confusing us with your sleazy impulsive friends. We're fully clothed and having an intellectual conversation."

"Cute," Nick commented as he stepped into the room. "Hey, I just wanted to say goodnight and thanks again for flyin' out for the party."

"Aww." Hugging her brother, Katie joked, "I had to come. Thanksgiving wasn't the same without you, Andy, and your scandalous friends around to cause controversy."

**Saturday, December 11, 2005**

**Drew's Front Lawn **

**12:09 am **

Tapping the modestly priced wristwatch her father had given her, Carrie smiled approvingly, "Thank you, Daddy. I love it, and I love that you didn't try to compete with Nicky and cause problems

"Thank you for noticing." Hugging his daughter, Ken sighed, "Your fiancé threw you a wonderful party. I'm sure your mother was grinning from ear to ear as she looked down."

"I'm sure she was."

"I just wish it hadn't been tainted by all that BS." Winking, he added, "But I've come to learn that BS is a common occurrence when hanging around the Stokes clan, as well as Nicky's friends and co-workers, so I'm not bent out of shape. I'm goin' with the flow, Honey, and letting you live the life you've chosen to lead."

"I think it's easier for you now that you're getting a life of your own."

"Do you think it's too soon?" he asked with concern seeping into his voice.

"It's been ten years."

"I never thought I'd want to keep the company of another woman after your mother."

"She hoped you would."

With a bittersweet chuckle, Ken said, "I always assumed that was something she said but didn't really mean, like when she'd tell me she didn't mind me having the guys over for poker, but I knew she hated it."

Carrie snatched a second hug. "She hated the poker nights, but she said yes because she wanted you to have fun. She was always thinking of our happiness above hers, even when she was sick. Ten years is more than enough time and Jori Demcak is wonderful. In some ways, she reminds me of Mom. Enjoy your time with her, Lord knows she needs some happiness in her life, and you're already going to be grandparents together."

"Okay, Honey." After a kiss to his daughter's cheek, Ken stepped back.

"There you are," Nick called out on approach. "I was hopin' you weren't runnin' off with another guy with less scandalous friends." _That's probably what you dad was just telling you to do._

"Aww, don't worry." Carrie took her man's hand, "Steve Ogden tried to convince me to run off to Utah with him, but I declined."

**The Vartanns**

**12:22 am **

"I'm telling you, I **know **Steve Ogden is a creep!" Becca stopped pacing the bedroom to yell at her disbelieving husband who had collapsed onto the bed in frustration. "Quit looking at me like that, Tony! It's in my head as clear as day! A really sunny clear day, not a cloudy day or even a partly cloudy one. I'm telling you, it's crystal creepy clear! First he's holding a picture of a little girl in a bathing suit, and then he's crying while the cops swarm the place. We can't ignore this. You have to do something! Little kids are in danger."

Watching his disturbed wife pant and pace, Tony calmly said, "It's not that I don't believe you, Honey."

"Then why aren't you calling the station?"

"Because the law is the law, Becks, you can't accuse someone of a crime based on a gut feeling, you need **evidence**." Sitting up, he ran his fingers through his hair for the hundredth time and tried to reason, "Maybe if you sat still and really listened to…"

"Stop talking to me like I'm crazy! I'm not crazy!" She gulped air. "Not about this anyway. This is real, I swear."

"The problem is, whenever something like this is happening in your head, you believe it's real." Pleading with his voice and eyes, Tony quietly said, "Remember when you believed you could curse people to their death?"

"But now we know I can't. That was just me seeing the future and blurting it without realizing I was telling the future."

"My point is, that at the time, it felt real, so real you were scared to open your mouth for fear of killing an innocent bystander. You freaked out at the grocery store because you cursed the lady who cut you off in the parking lot."

"_Did you see what that bitch just did, Tony?!" Gripping the steering wheel, Becca's ire grew. "She took my space. I was waiting for that space. That's **my **space, dammit. Arrest her!" _

_Done responding to voicemail, Tony put his cell away and calmly said, "Let it go, Honey. You're driving a Ferrari and she has a piece of shit Buick, give her the freakin' space. For all you know, getting that space is the only good thing that's gonna happen to her today." _

"_It's the principle of the…" Before Becca could finish her thought, the space-stealer was walking by sneering. _

"_I guess it's my lucky day!" Lana Marcus, a forty-nine year old cocktail waitress stopping for cigarettes gave a chain smoker's laugh. _

"_Oh yeah, bitch?! Well one day your luck is gonna change and you'll drop dead!" _

"You honestly believed she was going to die, Becca." Taking her hand, Tony squeezed it. "You made me run the plate to get her name so you could check the obituaries for days. Lana Marcus is alive and well in spite of your curse or psychic blurt or whatever, right?"

"I uh…haven't checked in a few days."

"I check every day."

"Because you believe in my powers?" she asked with a hopeful lilt.

"No, because I love you and I want to have the answer in case you panic about it and I need to calm you down." As his wife's eyes welled, Tony pulled her onto his lap. "It's okay."

"It seems so real."

"I know it does, Honey." Stoking her hair, Tony whispered, "And I haven't been discouraging the visions, because they've been fun. I love hearing about the adventures of Zach and Bella. I want to believe our babies are born healthy and we all live happily ever after. Even you telling Tawny about her girls, if that helped her stay optimistic about carrying the babies to term, fantastic but, Becks, I can't ruin a man based on psychic powers you may or may not have."

"But psychics are called in to help the police solve crimes. Hasn't that ever happened at LVPD?"

Recalling a few occasions, Tony replied, "Yeah, but it's never really worked."

"Never?"

"There was this guy who showed up on Nick's door." Realizing he shouldn't encourage his wife, Tony stopped, "Actually no, it's never worked."

"Finish what you were going to say or I'm calling Nick and Carrie for the details."

"Okay, okay." Cursing himself for bringing it up, he shared, "You've heard the story about Nick being stalked by his cable guy, Nigel Crane, right?" When she nodded, Tony continued, "After Nick got thrown out of a window by that nutjob, he was home trying to get some rest when this guy, Morris Pearson, showed up on his door. Prior to that, Pearson had been working with Brass and Grissom on a case, claiming he was clairvoyant. He told them he saw visions sometimes when he touched a person or an object."

"That's exactly what happened!" Becca bounded off her husband's lap to pace. "Carrie introduced me to Ogden and when I shook his hand, the vision flashed in my head. It was like on TV when they show a character trying to remember what happened, like someone who was drunk having a flash to the previous night, or a victim trying to recall a crime. It was jumbled together in intense choppy flashes, but as soon as I released Steve's hand, it stopped."

"The thing is, Pearson had been in and out of psychiatric care his whole life. We're talking a real loner…"

"Because everyone thinks he's crazy." Swallowing the truth, Becca said, "Everyone thinks I'm crazy, don't they?"

"Your friends care about you and strangers," he shrugged, "who gives a shit what strangers think."

"That's a resounding 'yes, Becca, everyone thinks you're a loon'."

"Honey, come on…you have to realize it does sound crazy when you go up to someone and start talking in vivid detail about a birthday party ten years from now."

Deflecting, she asked, "What happened with Pearson and Nick?"

"Uh." As much as he hated to finish the story, he knew Carrie would tell it if asked, so he replied, "Pearson burst into Nick's apartment carrying on about something bad happening at his address. He was rambling about the ceiling breaking and green tea. He took off through the apartment as Nick stood in the living room calling for him to get the hell out. All of a sudden Pearson came crashing through the ceiling."

"Oh my God."

"He landed on the throw rug Nick had in the center of the room. It had a big green T on it, for Texas. The stalker had been up in the attic and killed him."

"Holy shit!" Becca knelt at her husband's feet. "He was seeing his own death."

"Look at you, this is why I didn't want to tell you. You're a nervous wreck again."

"Maybe I should visit an established psychic to get an expert opinion."

"No, I think we need to visit Dr. Myers to see what we can do about the Zoloft helping your mood, but not your anxiety or OCD." As much as he hated her taking any drugs while pregnant, he said, "Maybe she needs to adjust the dosing or…"

"You want to medicate away my psychic gift?" she asked in disappointment. "What if all the artists and authors who produced genius works had been medicated because they had…issues?"

"I think Van Gogh would have kept his ear, Poe would have written happy endings, and Virginia Woolf wouldn't have killed herself." When he saw surprise in Becca's eyes, Tony gave a lovable chuckle, "That's right, I'm not as uneducated as you think, Miss Stanford. Don't let the ASU degree fool you, I wasn't always too hungover to listen in class…once I stopped scheduling classes on Mondays and Fridays…or before noon the rest of the week…and discovered No-Doze pills."

"If you name a Van Gogh painting, then quote Poe and Woolf, I'll really be impressed, Frat Boy."

"How about if I name a painting, say a Poe quote and give you some wolf, we agree to drop the Steve Ogden discussion for tonight?"

"Deal."

In a spooky voice, Tony whispered in his wife's ear, "All that we see or seem is but a dream within in a dream."

"That uh…got me a little hot." She cleared her throat. "And it wasn't even obvious Poe."

"That quote was shown on screen at the beginning of the movie The Fog in the early 80s." Laughing at the memory in his head, Tony shared, "Matt and I took our girlfriends to see that movie and it proved to be a really good line to whisper in a chick's ear, we ended up using it for years."

"I should have known it wasn't learned in English Lit. Okay, brainiac…you still need to get Woolf and Van Gogh."

"_The Starry Night_ is a Van Gogh painting. My mother has a fake print of it. I think it's crap."

"How renaissance of you." Forgetting her troubles, Becca smiled, "You don't have something for Woolf though, admit it."

"Oh yes I do." Tony howled liked a Mexican Grey Wolf enamored with a full moon before announcing, "I said I'd give you some 'wolf', I never said it would be **Virginia **Woolf."

Kneeling before her trickster husband, Becca pouted her lips, "You conned me, Detective."

"Yep." Proud of the accomplishment, Tony boasted, "But check this out," he dropped to a poetic lilt, "someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more. That's **Virginia** Woolf as told to me at various crime scenes by LVPD's most annoying poetry-quoting geek, Gil Grissom. God I hate that quote crap."

**Lady Heather's Dominion **

**12:31 am **

"Andre Gide said, 'Believe those seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it'." Grissom stopped in front of Heather. "I'm suspicious of Macie Thomas finding a scandal, and I'm more than happy to help a friend get to the bottom of things."

"For that I'm grateful."

"The friend I was referring to was Jim, but you're welcome just the same."

"Does the wife know you're here?" Heather rounded her desk. "I'm still smarting from the last time she was surprised by news of our interaction."

"Yes, Sara knows and it doesn't bother her in the least."

"Fantastic."

**Nick and Carrie's **

**12:37 am **

"Fantastic?" Nick couldn't believe his ears. "Until the cops showed up, but then I think your birthday took a turn from fantastic to awful."

"Nah." Walking over to the Jacuzzi with Binda nipping at her heels, Carrie couldn't stop beaming. "You know what I did last year on my birthday?"

"What?" He carefully placed two glasses and a bottle of champagne on the patio table, hoping a relaxing dip and some drinks would help them unwind.

"Went to lunch with my co-workers and had dinner with my father, who sadly was the only guy who sent me flowers or gave me a gift that day." Grinning, she informed her fiancé, "So what if the cops busted up the party a little early. You did good, Stokes."

"Way too good according to every guy at the damn party." Tossing his shirt, Nick joked, "That reminds me, can I get it in writing that you said you won't be disappointed next year if life's real busy with our family growin' and I only have time to get you a dozen roses and a card?"

"I'll leave the contract on your pillow," she assured while dropping her robe. "I thought my birthday suit was appropriate for the occasion."

"Yes, ma'am." He took a moment to admire the view. "Just give me a sec to pop open the bubbly and I'll meet you in the bubbles."

**The Grissoms **

**12:42 am **

After sinking into a tub full of suds, Sara glanced over at Flash. "How was your night?"

In a move that would have made his Entomologist owner proud, the basset hound remained motionless, staring at a small spider making its way up the bathroom wall.

"You missed a good party. Carrie was totally surprised." Fluffing a towel, she rested it behind her head. "The band sounded great and the food was awesome. The dinner would have been your favorite part, particularly the beef. Those Texans lived up to their beef-eating reputation, I'll tell you. Yuck."

Flash licked his lips and lifted his head.

"I forgot to feed you, didn't I?" Closing her eyes, Sara rested her head on the wall. "As soon as I finish my bath, I promise I'll take care of you."

**The Sanders Home **

**12:44 am **

"Is there anything else I can bring you tomorrow, Princess?" With the phone pressed to his ear, Greg slid into bed. "More magazines? Snacks?"

"My manicure kit and red nail polish. I always paint my toes red for the Christmas season. You'll have to do it for me though, because I'm not allowed to sit up."

"You know I'm always up for your kink, my naughty little minx." As his wife giggled into the phone, Greg slipped under the covers. "I miss spooning you."

"I miss being spooned, but if all goes well, I'll be home a week from Sunday."

"I asked Becca and she told me she had a vision of you on bed rest at home, so I'm sure it will happen. She said you become addicted to _The Price is Right_ and Sudoku puzzles."

"Ugh, please tell me you're not encouraging this psychic vision stuff."

"Uh."

"Greg! She doesn't need encouragement. This is why the two of you were bad for each other. You're enabling her nuttiness."

"Nana Olaf was right more times than she wasn't, especially about me getting a stripper pregnant, so it's easy for me to believe she was right about Becca having the gift. Besides, it's keeping me optimistic."

"Well, I've never done a Sudoku puzzle in my life and I hate _The Price is Right_, so sorry, she's wrong, not that I don't want her to be right about me coming home."

Not in the mood to argue about their differing beliefs in the occult yet again, Greg changed the subject, "I'll have to hide my porn and my doll before you get released from the hospital."

"What's your doll's name?"

"Tawny," he laughed, "It would be cheating on you if I named her something else. She looks just like you too. I put her in your lingerie and necklace, because the clothes she came in were so not you."

"You didn't really go out and buy a doll, did you?"

"Uh, I didn't** buy** one, no." Glancing over at the doll sitting in bed clad in his wife's clothes, he replied, "Becca gave it to me as a joke the other day. She did her hair the same as yours and everything. I can't believe how real TawnyDoll is actually."

"If Becks bought it, it's probably one of the $7,000 dolls. Was it made by Abyss Creations?"

"Yes! Seven grand?! Seriously?" Greg burst out laughing. "TawnyDoll felt good, but not seven-grand good."

"You did the doll?!"

Realizing he had slipped, Greg attempted to rationalize, "Uh…well, believe it or not, I've never actually had one until now and um…oh god." He covered his face from the embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Don't worry, I know how your curious mind works; you scientific genius types always have to run a few experiments when you encounter something new." When Tawny heard him cringing, she cooed, "Aww, don't be embarrassed, Chuckles, I've done far more humiliating things on stage for cash."

"Thanks for not getting squicked."

"Oh, I'm still squicked," she giggled. "Hey! I just thought of a way to help beat the loneliness."

With a smirk he confessed, "I'm intrigued."

"Get some duct tape."

"Now I'm confused," Greg laughed as he darted out of bed for the roll of duct tape they kept in the dresser. "Actually, if you ask me to put a piece over my mouth because you're sick of listening to me, I'd understand."

"No, you'll need your mouth, baby."

"I'm back to being intrigued," he snickered.

"Put the phone on speaker and duct tape it to the doll's back."

"Ha! No way!" With a school boy's excitement, he asked, "Really? This is so cool!" Ripping the duct tape with his teeth, Greg hit the speaker button. "Hold on for a sec. Just in case my dad decides to check on me, I want to make sure the door's locked. I don't want him to think I'm a perv, which I am, but..."

"Greg."

"Yeah?"

"You're just going to **spoon **the doll while we talk on the phone, right? I mean, that's what I was thinking, what you were thinking?"

"Oh." Dropping the bottle of lube he was holding, Greg masked his disappointment with a laugh, "Of course I was just going to** spoon** the doll and talk. Jeeeeeeez, how twisted do you think I am?!"

**The Willows/Brown Residence**

**12:51 am **

"The entire Stokes family thinks we're sex crazed lunatics," Catherine grumbled as she climbed into bed. "They think we ditched our daughter to get it on in the middle of a family party."

"And which part of that isn't true?" After tossing his Sports Illustrated on the ground, Warrick rolled onto his side. "This is why we shoulda stuck to our agreement not to do that shit at parties anymore."

She chuckled, "So said the recovering gambling addict to the recovering drug addict about their mutual sex addiction."

"It's not funny, the only reason Drew didn't kill me for dropping trou was my friendship with Nick, and you know Big Daddy Braun is gonna strangle me the first chance he gets."

"Which would be tomorrow, by the way, I agreed for us to have dinner at his place."

"Can't, I picked up a shift."

"When did you pick up a shift?"

Warrick reached for the phone, hit Pete's speed dial number and left a message when the voice mail kicked in, "Hey man, it's 'Rick, I'll be able to pick up your shift tomorrow night after all. Have fun with Jas."

When her husband hung up, Catherine pecked his lips. "I'll call my father in the morning and switch it to lunch."

"Can't, you're workin' for Nicky."

"Dammit. I forgot about that."

"Just have Daddy Warbucks write a note telling me how much he hates me." Running his fingertip over Catherine's parted lips, he spoke in a rough whisper, "Look at you. You still get off on your daddy not liking the bad boy in your life."

"I plead the fifth." Tasting her man's finger, she purred, "Penny for your thoughts."

**Nick and Carrie's Hot Tub**

**12:56 am **

"Mmm, what are you waiting for?" Carrie nipped at her man's ear while grinding on his lap.

Nick sharply cleared his throat, "I'm uh, just give me another minute, Darlin', and…"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"That's weird, because you've never had a problem getting…"

"Problem?" An anxious laugh shot through the night air. "I don't have a problem. It's the hot tub, and the booze, and I'm a little tired is all. Don't say problem, ever actually, don't ever use the word** problem** in reference to the team."

"Sorry, Tex, I didn't mean to insinuate you're suffering from erectile dysfun…"

"Hey!" With his hand over the birthday girl's mouth, Nick jittered a smile, "Are you tryin' to give me a heart attack?"

**The Grissoms **

**1:01 am**

"You scared the hell out of me!" Sara yelled at Flash when she awoke with a start and discovered she had fallen asleep in the bathtub. "How long have I been sleeping? And why are you growling?"

"Because he doesn't like me," Mike coolly announced from the doorway before Sara's blood curdling scream filled the room. "What's with the drama, Mrs. Grissom?" Taking a seat on the edge of the bathroom counter, he manically grinned, "Personally, I'm thrilled that we finally have some quality time together. I really wish you felt the same, but I'm surprised, since you've always been ungrateful of my attention."

With shaky hands, she stood and wrapped a towel around her body. "H…how did you get by the alarm?"

"How do I get away with half the shit I get away with?" he cackled. "Come on, don't you know by now that I'm a magician. There's nothing I can't do if I set my mind to it." Watching her convulse with fear, Mike whispered, "Wanna take a guess what my mind is set on right now, Sweetheart?"

Her heart pounding in her chest, Sara slowly stepped out of the tub. "If you touch me, I'll kill you."

"With what?" he laughed. "Your bare hands? And you better be careful not to slip, because you're pregnant. I'd hate for you to lose Gil's baby. It is Gil's right?"

"Go to hell."

"I think that's a given. Hey, like the song says…I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. All the party people will be in hell." He smirked, "Your father will be there. Hey, do I remind you of him a little? Is that why you want to kill me? Because I don't get where the animosity comes from, so I'm guessing it's a baggage issue." Rubbing his throat, Mike asked, "Would you like to slice my throat like your mommy sliced your daddy's? Is that how you dream of doing it, Sara?"

She continued scanning the area for a decent weapon while hoping Flash would somehow manage to tear open the bastard's jugular.

"I don't want anything other than what you owe me, Sara."

"What I** owe** you?" she reacted. "I don't owe you anything."

"I took you to Tahoe!" Mike blasted, snapping to anger. "You **used** me, you pretended to be into me when all along you were pining for Gil. Do you have **any idea** how humiliating it is to lose out to a forty-nine year old **Entomologist** geek who has grey hair, bad clothes and a Buddha belly?! It's like George Clooney losing out to Santa Claus!"

Flash's barking and Mike's screaming hurting her ears, Sara covered them. "Please stop." Tears popped from the corners of her clenched eyes. "Stop."

"No, I won't stop, Sara! I won't stop until you give me what I want! All this bullshit I'm doing to your friends, that's all on you. You're responsible for everything that's happening, and **you** are the only one who can make it stop." Extending his hand, he quietly asked, "So, what do you say, Honey?"

"No!" As the room spun, Flash's crazed barking drowned out Mike's vile words.

"No!" When Sara's eyes opened, she saw her loyal hound had his front feet on the tub. "Where…?" Clutching her naked body, she realized that it had been a terrifying nightmare. "It wasn't real." The 'armed' light on the alarm panel confirmed the good news. "It felt so real. Dr. M will have a field day analyzing that one with me." Panting, she placed her hand on Flash's head. "You were barking to snap me out of the nightmare, that's so sweet." When the dog licked his lips, she anxiously smiled, "No, you were barking because I still haven't fed you dinner."

The familiar sound of the 'D' word sent the basset hound trotting out the door.

"Okay, okay." Still breathing erratically, Sara said, "Just give me a minute to pull it together."

**Nick and Carrie's **

**1:09 am **

"We've been in bed for ten minutes, Nicky." _I don't think the hot tub was the problem._ Carrie delicately whispered, "How about we not worry about it and call it a night? I'm really tired all of a sudden, so..."

"You're just sayin' that."

"I swear I'm not."

Covering his face with a pillow, the former ladies man whimpered, "I can't believe this is happening."

"You're not seriously worried, are you? You drank at the party, you're stressed from worrying about your niece and nephews, and you've been up since nine o'clock this morning."

"Did you have to say 'up'?"

"Would you stop! You made love to me this morning without a problem." She grabbed the pillow covering his face and tossed it on the floor. "Very vigorous love as a matter of fact."

"I've read magazine articles, Darlin'. This is exactly how it starts."

"How what starts?"

"The problem," he whispered as if he were shielding the conversation from a dozen people. "I used to be able to pound beer and tequila shots all night and do a woman twice in an hour before passing out."

"Uh, am I supposed to feel sorry for myself for not knowing you back then? Because I consider myself lucky," she chuckled. "Soon we'll have a baby and be too tired to get romantic after midnight, so maybe this is nature's way of easing us into our new lifestyle."

"I'm serious, Sweetheart. I haven't said anything, but…my recharge time has been slippin' a little more every month."

"I think you're paranoid. I haven't noticed a change."

"I've been watchin' the clock," he confessed while bringing a clammy hand to his forehead beaded in sweat. "Face it, I'm on a downhill slide at the same time you're hitting your stride."

"Gee, you're right." Sitting up, she unclasped her diamond birthday bracelet. "I'm sorry, even though I love you with all my heart and you made a bunch of my dreams come true today, now that I know your **recharge time** has slipped, I'm going to have to give back my jewels and trade you in for a younger model." After jumping out of bed, she deadpanned, "Would you mind jotting down directions for the UNLV campus, because I think I'll start my stud search in the freshmen dorms. That is if you if you're not too feeble to lift a pen at this hour, old man."

"I see your sarcasm recharge rate is only getting stronger as time marches on." Nick laughed after getting a pillow thrown at his face, "Okay, okay, I'll stop whinin'."

"Thank you. Geez, it's my birthday, not yours, so why are you having the mid-life crisis?"

"I'm getting in touch with my feminine side? Birthday empathy? I'm a loser?"

"Let's play it safe and go with all of the above." Snuggling close, she confessed, "Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to fool around in the first place, I was playing along because you spoiled me rotten all night and I felt obligated."

"So I'm only missin' out on a sympathy lay," he snickered, "good to know."

She brushed a kiss over his smile. "I love you, ya big loser. Good night."

"Night, Sweetheart." He moved into spoon position, relieved that the pressure was off. "I love you too." The warmth of her bare body soothing him, he buried his face in her sweet smelling hair. "Mmm."

Two minutes later, just as she was drifting off to sleep, Carrie's eyes flipped open. "Are you** kidding** me?"

Nick laughed his response, "I guess once the pressure was off the boys relaxed and blood flow was restored."

"What a relief."

"That was some righteous spooning, wasn't it?" he whispered in her ear, lingering a hot breath on the lobe. "Hmm?"

Rolling her eyes, Carrie droned, "I think we officially have proof that you're still very much a horny teenage boy."

**The Blakes **

**6:04 am **

"Busted!" Sean yelled when he saw his brother sneaking into the laundry room before sunrise. "Let me guess…the dream was about you and Nick's niece, Jessie Garrison."

"Payback's a bitch," Ryan warned as he stuffed his sheets in the washing machine, "so I'd be careful razzing me."

"Were you dreaming of that dance she never gave you, Jocko?"

"Snap." Ryan quietly shut the lid. "Look who bought a sense of humor. Too bad you shopped at the ninety-nine cents store."

Snorting with laughter, Sean slapped his leg. "Good one."

"And just like that…you're a geek again." Ryan breezed down the hall praying for a meat miracle upon reaching his mother's vegetarian kitchen.

"Jessie is really pretty. I can see why you'd be smitten with her."

"Smitten? You've been watching Mom's soap operas way too long, geekboy."

Chuckling, Sean trotted alongside his brother. "Maybe she'll be nicer to you at the BBQ tonight." Nick was hosting an informal Blake-Stokes family gathering.. "And her parents said they would be going to church with the rest of the Stokes family on Sunday before flying home that afternoon. That's two more chances."

"She missed her golden opportunity," Ryan stated while opening the fridge. "I wouldn't hang with Jessie Snob Garrison if she paid me."

"I see." Sean didn't believe the act for a minute. "Hey, do you want to run with me this morning?"

"No, I have better things to do."

"Too bad, because I planned on running past McDonald's and buying you an Egg McMuffin with **ham**."

"On second thought, I'll get my shoes."

**The Vartanns **

**7:23 am **

After kicking off his running shoes, Tony hurried up the stairs to check on Becca. It had taken two hours to calm her down upon returning from the party the previous night, so he hoped she would sleep in and get at least eight solid hours.

"Good," he whispered upon seeing his wife dozing soundly in their bed.

Trotting down the stairs, he reviewed the day's plans in his head. _Make breakfast, call Mom, work in the yard, shower, head to the grocery store, prep everything for dinner._ They would be entertaining his long-time friend, Fraud Detective Lieutenant Frank Suldano and his wife. Tony was crossing his fingers that Becca would gel with the wife, Jan, who was a sweet, conservative Kindergarten teacher and twenty-one weeks pregnant with her first child. He figured they would either bond over being pregnant police wives, or it would be awkward as hell, particularly if Becca continued to obsess over her new found psychic powers.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Tony clicked on the TV, grabbed the phone to call his mother, and then headed to the fridge. "Hey, Ma." With the ingredients for a Denver omelet in hand, he went to the counter. "How's everyone doing?"

"We had some big news yesterday. Gina's doing so well on the Lithium, they think she'll be able to leave the hospital and continue as an outpatient."

"How does Reg feel about her coming home so soon?" he asked while cracking eggs.

"She won't be coming here, Honey, she'll be going home to live with her parents. Reggie was surprised with divorce papers yesterday, and we found out that Gina's parents are suing for full custody of Sierra."

"What?" Tony stopped beating his eggs. "Why now? Why not wait until after she's been in treatment for a while? Maybe Gina and Reg will be able to work things out."

"That's what I said, but they won't back down. I was waiting for your call, actually. Reggie doesn't want to ask, but I told him his daughter's happiness is more important than his ego. We need a good lawyer, Honey, the best money can buy. With Becca's connections in California and…"

"I'll take care of it, Ma." Pulling his favorite omelet pan from the rack, Tony assured her, "As soon as Becca wakes up, I'll ask her if she knows someone from the Country Club."

"Thank you, Honey. Now tell me how Becca is doing."

"She's…" Tony froze when he saw the caption on the TV screen. "You know what, Ma, I'm sorry, I need to use the john. I'll call you back." Tossing the phone, he unmuted the TV to hear the reporter. "No, no way."

_It's a very sad story, Lou. The woman, Lana Marcus, had just won **three hundred and twenty four thousand dollars** on a progressive slot machine here at The Monte Carlo. When the casino manager presented her check, she told him she had been down on her luck for the last ten years and planned to pay off her massive debts and buy a new car. Then, as the casino manager shook her hand, Ms. Marcus clutched her chest and fell to the ground. Paramedics were overheard saying it appeared to be a coronary episode. _

_Unbelievable, LinSue. It reminds me of that song from a few years back, 'Ironic'. Remember that one? A guy is afraid to fly his whole life and when he finally gets the nerve, his plane crashes. Then there's a line about an old man winning the lottery, but dying the next day. _

_I do remember that one, Lou, and you're right, this tragedy could be a line from that song. Lana Marcus played the slots here in Vegas for years without hitting the jackpot, and on the day her luck changed…she dropped dead. This is LinSue Ming, reporting live from The Monte Carlo. Back to you, Lou. _

"Holy shit." Tony took a seat at the counter, never believing Becca might actually have a psychic gift…until now. "Damn."

**

* * *

****Thanks everyone! **

**Maggs **


	8. Chapter 8

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 8**

**Saturday, December 11, 2005**

**The Sanders Home **

**9:09 am **

"Hey, Scott." Tony gave a polite wave before anxiously asking, "Is Greg here? He's not answering his cell and I really need to talk to him."

"Was that you calling?" Scott took a step back and waved in the detective. "I heard Greg's cell ringing when I was on the patio reading the paper earlier. He must have come home and jumped in the hot tub last night, because I found all his clothes out there with the phone. I assume he's upstairs sleeping, because his truck is in the garage." After a quick check of the time, Scott grabbed his suitcase. "I was actually on my way out to the airport when you rang the doorbell, so I need to run. Lily's flying in for a couple of days. Feel free to head on upstairs and wake Greg. If he's not there, just lock the door on the way out. Do you still have a key from when you were staying here?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, I left this all in a note, but remind my son that in case he or Tawny needs me, Lily and I will be at Spa Mandalay all day and we're checking into the hotel this afternoon."

"Will do, and from one formerly miserable guy to another…have fun with the new woman in your life."

"I fully intend to," Scott confirmed on the way out the door. "See ya."

"Bye." After shutting the door, Tony raced upstairs and knocked on the master bedroom. "Greg, could you open up? Greg?!"

"Coming." Forcing himself out of bed, Greg padded across the room, wishing he had an ice cold glass of water to quench his dry mouth. "What is it, Dad?" he asked upon swinging open the door.

"Ever think of putting some clothes on before you answer the door?"

"It's not the front door, and I thought you were my father." Rubbing his sleep-filled eyes, Greg trudged to the dresser for a pair of boxer-briefs. "I didn't know we were going to the gym this morning."

"We're not." The observant detective stepped into the room and promptly gasped. "What the…I can't believe you, Sanders! I'm gonna rip your friggin' head off and shove it up your…"

"What did I do **now**?!"

"I guess this explains why your clothes were out by the hot tub." Pointing to the bed, Tony's stomach knotted in disgust. "You make me **sick**. If you think I'm not gonna tell Tawny about you screwing around with…"

"It's** a doll**, Super Sleuth."

Tony hurried over and yanked off the covers. "Whoa. I really thought it was a chick's hair." An amused smile danced on his face as he knelt before the lifeless body. "It's so real."

"It sure as hell should be for seven grand."

"Your wife goes into the hospital, and you have to run out and spend **seven grand** on a look-alike sex doll?"

"It was a gift actually."

"What kind of sick freak gave you a sex doll?"

"Your wife," Greg answered with a full dose of smugness. "Kind of makes you wonder what she'd do if you ever got sidelined from the sack, huh? By the way, Becca told me they make male versions of those dolls. I wonder why she'd care?"

"Alright, alright." Suddenly reminded of why he was there in the first place, Tony stood and cleared his throat. "You know that woman Becca cursed in the parking lot?"

"Lana Marcus."

"She dropped dead at The Monte Carlo last night after winning the progressive."

"Oh! That's so cool!" Greg backpedaled, "Not for Lana Marcus. It's cool that it proves Becca's got the gift."

"Would you stop? You know I don't believe in that garbage."

"Why do you still attend Church, pray the rosary, go to confession, and make the sign of the cross on the sly sometimes?"

"Because I'm a brainwashed Catholic. My mother started laying on the guilt when I was in the womb and hasn't stopped."

"Nah." Fishing through a drawer for a clean t-shirt, Greg grumbled, "That's just another one of your tough-guy defenses. You do all that stuff because you believe that God and the devil exist, and if you believe that God and the devil exist in a realm beyond Earth, it means that you believe there are supernatural forces at work in the universe, and if there are indeed supernatural forces at work in the universe, it's very plausible that certain people have the ability to tap into supernatural energy."

"Slow down, Stanford, I haven't had my coffee yet."

**Lady Heather's Dominion**

**9:25 am **

"Would you like more tea, Gil?" Without waiting for an answer, Heather reached for the china pot.

Grissom lifted his cup and saucer. "Breakfast was delicious, thank you." It would have been better if his hostess had been wearing something other than a black leather teddy and matching robe.

"It's the least I could do after learning how you tore this place apart last night looking for anything to help us." Sensing her attire was making her ex-lover uncomfortable, she explained, "I would have dressed differently, but a reporter from an adult entertainment magazine is due here any minute to take photos."

"I have no problem with your attire."

"I must be a little rusty when it comes to reading you then."

"Apparently." Still groggy, he was grateful for the refreshing breeze suddenly blowing across the open patio. "What time did Jim leave?"

"The Sheriff called him at eight-fifteen for an impromptu meeting. When he saw you dozing in an armchair, he didn't have the heart to wake you. He called Sara and told her you had fallen asleep here…alone."

Stirring his tea, Grissom asked, "Have you finished the list I requested?"

"A list of people who might be holding a grudge against me? Yes." Heather set down her cup and stood. "I left it in my office, because it was quite large. Shall we go?"

**Nick and Carrie's **

**9:42 am **

"Yeah, let's play some fetch." Now that her puppy had finished her business, Carrie threw its favorite rope toy across the yard. "Atta, girl!" She slapped her robe-covered thigh. "Bring it here! Bring it here, girl!"

The Labradoodle promptly returned with the toy in her mouth.

"Good girl." Carrie crouched down to give a pat.

"How are my two favorite girls this morning?!" Pulling on a sweatshirt, Nick crossed the yard. "You coulda woke me, Carr." Scooping up Binda he asked, "How long have you been up?"

"Nah, I thought you could use the rest before doing all the work for the BBQ tonight."

After placing the pup on the ground, Nick slipped his arms around his fiancée's waist and pressed his lips to hers. "But I missed wakin' up with you in my arms."

"I think that's code for 'I woke up in the mood, but you weren't there to help me out'?"

"I can't help it, Sweetheart, I'm a red-blooded male." Pressing his body to her thigh, he goaded her, "How are you feelin' this morning?" Hmm? Are you feelin' a little…tense? Because let's think about this, we don't want to be pent up later and have to sneak off during the BBQ, do we?"

"Nicky, stop." As he nibbled her neck, she pushed out of his embrace. "I said stop!"

He chuckled until he saw she was tensely cinching her robe tighter. "Carr? What's goin' on?"

"Last night wasn't funny. Lindsay's off the hook, but your brother could still lose his kids because of what happened at the party."

"I was jokin' about sneakin' off during the BBQ."

"Really? Well maybe it's hard to believe you, because you suggested it at Thanksgiving and..."

"Excuse me?" Her judgmental tone riled him. "I didn't hear you complainin' at Thanksgiving."

"I didn't, but last night got me thinking. Catherine and Warrick were in the throes of foreplay on the dance floor while your niece was two feet away. That wasn't appropriate for a family party." Continuing to use Steve's speaking points, she said, "_Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy_ shouldn't have been played like a rebel yell to go find a dark corner and fool around."

"I didn't ask the band to play that song." Feeling like he woke in the Twilight Zone, Nick said, "Why are you pissed at me? Where is this comin' from? You were fine when we got home last night. Hell, you were all over me in the hot tub."

"Because I was **wasted **last night." Holding her throbbing head, she said, "I'm just as guilty as you. Do you hear me? I'm not saying this is your fault, or you corrupted me, I'm a grown woman with a brain and I make my own choices."

"Then what are you sayin' exactly?"

"I feel trashy."

"You feel **trashy**?" The words stung and fueled his only recently overcome Madonna/Whore complex. "How do you feel trashy exactly?"

"I'm sneaking off for sex at family gatherings, I'm wearing a sexy red dress to compete with Tina Marchello for Best Babe at the LVPD Formal." Her gaze hit the ground. "I'm leaving work at lunch to have sex in the back of your truck."

"I didn't want you to wear that damn dress! Remember?!" He grunted in frustration. "Now that's on me?! And what we did in the back of my truck the other day wasn't planned, we were jokin' around pretendin' we were in a soft core film with a stupid plot between a lawyer and a CSI and we got carried away. It was a silly one time thing."

"Really? One time? You've never played 'lawyer and CSI use their break time to have quickie' before that afternoon?"

"Sorry, Counselor, if I had known I was on trial, I would have answered more accurately." Narrowing his gaze, his irritation grew. "My new answer is, I've had sex with different lawyers in many places, and I've had sex in the back of my truck with many women who weren't lawyers, but you are the** only** lawyer I've ever had sex with in the back of my truck, and out of all the sex I've had in my truck, I enjoyed the sex with you the most, although at the moment my fondness for the memory is rapidly dwindling. **Better?!**"

"Nicky…" She pressed her palm to her chest. "I don't want to fight."

"**What?! **That is the most **ridiculous **thing you've said yet! If you don't want to fight, then why are you accusin' me of stupid shit and making me feel bad?!" _Women! How can she be so smart and so friggin' irrational sometimes? _Stuffing his hands on his hips, Nick took a walk around the patio. "Sorry, I really wasn't expectin' to hear this and I need a minute."

"Come on, it's just communication, I'm not handing back the ring." Realizing she had caught him off guard, she said, "I love you, Nicky."

"Except when I'm making you feel trashy apparently, which I didn't know I was until now. I thought we were having fun, **mutual** fun."

"We were. We are! I still want to! I'm just saying that I no longer want to have it in public places, at family gatherings, or in the back of your work vehicle, because we're going to be parents and we both have career ambitions that will require us to maintain a high level of peer and public credibility." Softening her voice she said, "I'm saying that puberty has been a blast and I loved every hot minute of it, but I think it's time for us to grow up." She stepped closer. "I still want the lovin', I just want it in our home…unless my nephews and Lindsay are hiding behind our couch." She closed in with another step. "Aren't I kind of right?"

"No! You're a lot right." Holding his head, Nick muttered, "But you could have let me have a damn cup a coffee before makin' me think about all this. And you could have been nicer about it, especially since you know how much I hate gettin' ambushed."

"Sorry."

He acknowledged her with a nod. "And I'm sorry for yellin', Sweetheart."

"In case I've confused you…" Slipping her arms around his waist, she breathed her remaining words into his ear, "When we're in the privacy of our bedroom, I don't expect or want it to be sweet all the time, I still want it hot sometimes, **red** hot. My inner bad girl still wants to wear sinful lingerie and she wants you to know that there are a few things that she hasn't done yet that she wants to try. Is that clear enough?"

"Yes, ma'am." He chuckled, "I heard you loud and clear. So did the boys apparently. They're volunteering to help you with your check list right now as a matter of fact."

"How about I bring you breakfast in bed to make up for pouncing and stressing you out before you had your morning coffee? After that…I'll whip out my list."

"If you insist." His smile returning, Nick headed for the house. "Stay out of the kitchen, Binda! Mommy's cookin' and you know how dangerous that is."

**Drew's House **

**9:47 am **

Working at the kitchen counter, Marta caught a glimpse of her engagement ring's glint. "I keep thinking last night's proposal was a dream," she told Katie, Jean, and Jillian, who were helping her bake Christmas cookies with Matt and Cassie.

"Nope. It's all true." Cassie selected the star cookie cutter. "You're gonna be my step-mommy, but you're gonna be a nice one, not a mean one like in Cinderella."

Decorating a tree cookie, Matt remarked, "It's gonna be weird calling you StepMommy instead of Nanny Marta."

"You don't have to say the step part, silly," Cassie corrected her naïve brother, "She'll just be Mommy."

Looking to his grandmother for advice, the boy said, "But we already have a mommy. How can you have two mommies?"

"Our baby will."

"Jean!" Katie couldn't believe her ears. "We had a plan. What happened to the plan?"

"Sorry, sorry. I got caught up in the moment."

Staring at her daughter, Jillian asked, "Is there somethin' you want to tell me?"

"Kids!" Marta pointed down the hall. "I need to you check on your sister for me. Peek in and see if she's still sleeping."

"Yes, ma'am." Matt led the way.

Once the kids were gone, Katie took Jean's hand. "Now that we're living together openly, kids became an option."

"I've always wanted to have a family."

"We're not pregnant yet, but…"

"Well, we might be," Jean corrected through an excited smile. "Tomorrow is the first day I can test. It's me by the way, I'm the one who wanted to get pregnant."

"Much to my relief," Katie laughed, "Because I wasn't up for it."

"Uh, I think we need to back up a bit." Jillian looked to Marta for empathy. "Don't you feel like you're missin' some critical information?"

The sheltered farmgirl nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure I understand how you would get pregnant. I mean, I know how a woman gets pregnant, but not by another woman, I mean I know you can't, but what I'm trying to say is…"

"Where'd you get the swimmers?" Jillian asked, in her trademark 'cut to the chase' style.

"Quentin volunteered to be the donor when he heard Jean say she always dreamed of having a baby." Katie chuckled, "Because we could work out everything in private with Quentin, it was easy, but I'll spare you the gory details."

Marta secretly wished the details had been shared, since she was still confused.

"Quentin was always was my favorite son-in-law, but don't tell your sisters I said that." Off balance from the news, Jillian pushed out a smile. "So, you and Quentin got your fake marriage annulled so you could openly live with your gay partners, and** then** decided to talk about bringing a baby into this world. That's…hmm." As much as she wished she didn't have mixed feelings about the idea for her daughter's sake, she did. "I'm not quite sure how to broach this with the Judge, so could we wait..."

"It's okay, Mom. Our **plan** was not to say anything to the family until we knew for sure that we were expecting."

**Crime Lab – Grissom's Office**

**10:02 am **

"I wasn't expecting to see you here this morning." Removing his glasses, Gil walked to greet his wife properly, as proper as he could at work anyway. Squeezing her hand on the sly, he quietly said, "You look tired. Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"

"Not because I was worried you were going for a reprise with Heather."

"Sara." Gil gave an all-telling glare.

"Kidding." Much to his chagrin and surprise, she pecked her husband's lips with the blinds surrounding his office wide open. "I fell asleep in the bathtub and had my weekly Mike Rodgers nightmare."

"You already had one this week."

"I guess seeing him at the party last night prompted my subconscious to churn out a second." She plopped into a guest chair. "There was a rather humorous part if you can believe it."

"Let's hear it." He returned to his desk chair.

"He was screaming at me because I chose you over him. He compared it to George Clooney losing out to Santa Claus."

"Why wouldn't George Clooney lose out to Santa every time? Clooney thinks he's God's gift to women while Santa actually **gives gifts** to women. Women may **say **having a hunk is more important than gifts, but everyone knows that diamonds are a girl's best friend." Gil winked. "Santa is fat and jolly because Mrs. Claus is so grateful of his lovin' that she spends all her time baking for him and fulfilling him sexually."

"I think you've been hanging around Greg a little too much."

**The Vartanns **

**10:15 am **

"Hoj! Tony!" Becca lit up when she saw her friend walking into the house with husband.

"I thought you'd still be sleeping, Becks."

"Just woke up."

"Aww, you two are best buddies again. Pouring herself a cup of decaf coffee, she filled with happiness. "I felt a serious energy disturbance when you fought last night. I think that's why I was so off balance and going on and on about my psychic gift." She continued for her husband's benefit. "But fear not…I promise to stop and sound as close to normal as I can manage, especially when Detective and Mrs. Suldano are here for dinner tonight. Yep, you don't have to worry about me droning on about visions and other nonsense." Noting how drained they both looked, she asked, "Were you working out? You look spent."

"We were shooting hoops in the park," Greg lied, "I wanted some private lessons away from the guys."

"Yeah." Tony was thankful that his buddy had lied for him. "Hey, Honey, because Hoj was pissed at my insensitivity, and I was ticked at him for being a gullible idiot, we made an agreement last night. My penance for being an ass is going to see Brokeback Mountain with you guys." _And while I was hoping on getting out of it, I figured it would be a great way to keep you occupied and away from the TV today, so we can avoid having a big drama before dinner tonight. _

The idea of homophobic husband sitting through a movie about gay cowboys had Becca choking on her coffee. "I had no idea you were that drunk last night, Honey. I could see you agreeing to root canal sans Novocain before going to see that movie with us."

"Yeah, well, this is the new, open-minded me you're looking at." He tapped his watch. "You need to get showered and dressed, because we have to leave in a little over an hour." Tony took her by the elbow.

As Greg raided the fridge he said, "Besides Daniel and Wade meeting us there, I talked to Katie and Jean last night and they're coming too. Afterwards, we're all going back to my house to analyze the film. I'll order pizza."

As her husband whisked her out of the room Becca teased her husband, "Depending on the amount of sex in the movie, I predict you may not have an appetite afterwards."

**Crime Lab – Breakroom **

**10:32 am **

"Ooh, who made the muffins?" Sara picked up one to sniff it. "I'm starving."

"Tami, that new night shift AV girl. You haven't met her yet. She's a veggie, so you'd like her. I think she has crush on Archie." Catherine filled her jumbo coffee mug for the third time. "As soon as I heard those muffins were tofu zucchini bran, I steered clear."

"Mmm," Sara took a second bite. "They're really good."

"Ugh." Her hangover and churning stomach getting to her, Catherine glanced away. "You preggos will eat anything."

"So how much trouble is Lindsay in after last night?"

"She's grounded until the Senior Prom."

Sara took a seat on the couch. "So glad I'm having a boy."

"You think boys don't cause trouble?" Catherine took great satisfaction in bursting her friend's bubble. "Just because he's the product of two social misfits, doesn't mean he'll be one. Sometimes kids rebel to be the opposite of their parents. I call it the 'pastor's promise-ring wearing son turns rebel and has cheap sex with the class bad girl behind the bleachers while drunk off his ass' scenario'."

"Let me guess…you were the bad girl who corrupted him."

With an all-knowing grin, Catherine replied, "All I'm saying is…don't count on Baby Griss to follow in his parents dysfunctional footsteps."

"There you are." Grissom hurried into the room.

"Perfect timing." Sara tore off another bite of muffin and shared, "Our friend here was just informing me that our son might want to have cheap sex behind the bleachers to prove his apple fell far from the Geek Tree."

"We'll get back to that." Grissom stepped closer. "I just got a call. Macie Thomas is dead."

"Wait. What?" Sara jumped up. "She was in police custody. How did she die?"

"We don't know. There are no signs of foul play and her cell was locked when they found her. The officer who found her suspected drug overdose because there was a small amount of foam in her mouth."

"Did they strip search her?" Catherine asked.

"No, they just patted her down."

"They video the holding cells," Sara said, "let's play it back."

"They did. She was found dead on the bench on the far side and the parameters of the camera are such that it doesn't capture that part of the cell. It only focuses on the door."

"Wow." Leaning her weary body against the wall, Catherine said, "So the only key witness to bring down Lady Heather, the girlfriend of the Crime Lab's Director, just died in police custody. That doesn't look too suspicious."

"My thoughts exactly." Grissom turned for the door. "Doc's coming in for the autopsy. Hopefully we'll know more soon."

**Don Schultz's Home**

**11:01 am **

Readying his pen, the eager lawyer instructed Teresa Valenzuela, Drew Stokes's maid, "I want to know everything you know about Marta Mueller and her relationship with your employer, including any deceptive or manipulative things she may have done to engage him in a physical or emotional capacity. I'd also like you to think about things she may have done to put Lissa in a bad light with the children and her husband."

The forty-two year old held up her cigarette case. "Mind if I smoke?"

"You do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable and remember as much information as possible."

After her first puff, Teresa said, "So I'm guessing that you want to prove Marta Mueller is a gold digging whore."

"Isn't she?"

"No. She's a young, sweet woman who loves children. She reminds me of Maria from the Sound of Music."

"Have you seen that movie?"

"Watched it every year as a kid."

"Then you'll recall that Captain VonTrapp was set to marry Baroness Schrader until the sweet, young **nanny** very cunningly stole him away."

"That's not how I saw it," Teresa laughed. "The Baroness was a middle-aged gold-digging bitch and Maria was a non-materialistic naïve virgin. The Captain knew that once the Baroness married him, she'd squander his money and not put out. Maria, on the other hand, would be happy if he gave her a dress made from old curtains and think it was normal to screw like rabbits and swallow. It was a no brainer, he sent the Baroness packing."

"Tell me again, how much do you owe your creditors, Ms. Valenzuela?" She had told him a sob story about her ex-husband maxing out her credit cards before he fled to Mexico.

"Sixty-two thousand dollars," she droned.

"Now tell me your opinion of Marta Mueller."

"She's a manipulative gold-digging whore."

"Much better," Don chuckled like a naughty school boy. "Won't everyone be shocked?"

**Nick and Carrie's **

**11:07 am**

"I'm still stunned, Sis. Call me back after and let me know what he says." Walking out of the closet with a towel wrapped around his waist, Nick called to his fiancée, "Hey, Carr!" He tossed the cordless phone on the bathroom counter and proceeded to the bedroom. "The Judge asked to go see Brokeback Mountain with my mom, Katie and Jean. They're meetin' up with Greg, Daniel and Becca to see it at noon. Can you believe it?"

"No way!" She stopped making the bed and ran over. "Let's go with them."

"Let's not." Nick shuddered at the idea. "Watchin' a gay cowboy movie would be disturbing. Watchin' it with real gay guys would be disturbing and uncomfortable. Watchin' it with my dad would be…"

"Priceless!" Carrie hurried to undo her robe. "Come on, Stokes. Let's get dressed and meet them."

"I have to get this place ready for the BBQ tonight, remember? I have meat to tenderize, a yard to tidy." _ESPN to watch, Xbox to play, a nap to take_. After kissing her cheek, Nick said, "But you go right on ahead without me, Sweetheart."

"Don't you want to support your sister?"

"Huh? My sister's not a gay cowboy," he boisterously laughed on the way to the bathroom. "Sorry, I don't think seein' Brokeback Mountain is a real good way to show my support of Katie's lesbianism. No, if we **really **want to support my sister's love of another woman, then I think we should go to the Rialto to see the Triple X Girls on Girls Movie Marathon." Nick swore he heard her eye roll from twenty feet away. "Hey, Attorney Blake!" Returning to the closet to get dressed, he yelled out, "Isn't it a little hypocritical for you to be ticked that I won't sit through two guys gettin' their freak on, when you won't watch two chicks together?"

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror fiddling with her hair, Carrie froze. _Damn. He's right. Or is he?_ "There's a difference between porn and an Academy Award level movie with a real plot. The screenplay of Brokeback Mountain is adapted from an acclaimed literary work. Therefore the movie is art."

"Art is subjective. Didn't you learn that in college, Smarty Pants?" He stepped out of the closet shirtless and buttoning his Levis. "Take Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Can art for example. Some people hate it, others think it's genius, and me…it just makes me want Chicken Noodle-Os." Brimming with satisfaction, Nick said, "Look at you all pissed off that I'm right. I love it."

"I'll go without you."

**The Vartanns**

**11:13 am **

"I'm just about ready to go." Becca approached her husband who was sitting on the bed clutching the remote control with a vice grip and watching ESPN like a zombie. "Hello!" Laughing at him, she dropped onto his lap. "What's with you and the TV today? You're obsessed."

"Sorry, I missed the scores last night, so I needed to catch up." Stroking her raven hair, he hated the thought of telling her the news of Lana Marcus's death and how it would send her spiraling into obsession. "I wasn't ignoring you." He had already traded shifts with Vega, so he could stay home the next day in case she needed calming down. "I love you, Becks." He didn't want to let go of her just yet, so he buried his face in her hair and hugged her tight. "You smell really nice. Is that a new perfume?"

"Very observant, Detective. Yes it is. Wow, aren't you snuggly this morning?" Initiating an Eskimo kiss, she said, "Little do most people know, but behind the tough guy bravado, you're a great big teddy bear."

"Only for you." After a few minutes of passionate kissing, he whispered, "We better get going."

"Hoj probably thinks we're getting it on." Giggling, she slid off his lap. "Uh oh," Becca teased when she saw an obvious bulge in her husband's trousers. "You better get rid of that before we go, or it could pop up during the movie and be taken the wrong way."

Tony shook his head, confident there wouldn't be a problem. "Trust me, one longing gaze between two guys and it'll be down for the duration, maybe the entire day."

**Don Schultz's Home **

**11:32 am **

"If I'm going to be here all day, I'll need more cigarettes." As her panic grew, Teresa shook the empty pack. "There's a market down the street, I'm uh…I'm going to run and get some."

"Here." Don reached into his wallet. "It's on me."

"That's okay!" The tape recorder that she had stuffed in her bra was just about to fall to the ground and she had to leave before it did. "I have cash." She coiled her fingers around her purse.

"No, take it. I want you to grab some sandwiches and chips while you're there too."

"Okay." The maid stood, anxious to get away before getting caught. "Shit!"

"What the…" Don stared at the small tape recorder that had fallen out of front of Teresa's blouse.

"Stokes has a lot of money," she gulped. "I was going to proposition him later today."

The shocked lawyer sat back in his chair. "You were going to take our money and then sell that tape to Stokes."

"I'm sorry, but I'm desperate for cash. I know this will sound like BS, but it's true. My niece has cancer and insurance won't pay for an organ transplant until her cancer is in remission, but if we wait, she'll be dead. I planned on giving her the money you gave me, but then I'll still need to pay off my debt or I'll wind up in jail." Tears pooling in her eyes, Teresa's pulse rate skyrocketed, "Oh God. Can I go to jail for this too? I don't want to go to jail."

"Did you tell your sister your plan?"

She shook her head.

"Have you told **anyone **about our deal? About my clients? Or that we were meeting today?"

"No. No, I **swear**. No one knows." She vehemently shook her head. "I was too afraid I'd jinx our deal if I talked about it. And no one knows about my financial problems, because I'm too embarrassed." Wiping her tears, she explained, "They all warned me Larry was using me when he came back, but…I didn't listen. I told my sister I was going to Pahrump today. I like to play at the Nugget, the penny megabucks." Wiping her eyes, she asked, "Did you hear about that lady who hit the progressive at The Monte Carlo and dropped dead? That would be my luck."

"Okay, just calm down. No harm's been done." Don stood and waved her to follow him. "If you needed more money, you should have asked us for a new deal. Let's go into the kitchen and have some iced herbal tea. It always calms me down."

"Thank you for not calling the cops."

"I'm a sucker for a sob story, and kids with cancer break my heart."

"Samantha is such a sweet kid. That's my niece, Samantha." She wiped her face with her sleeve. "Thank you for being so good about this."

"Just sit down and breathe."

Nodding, she dropped into one of the oak chairs and sucked in a jagged breath. "God, I'm such a loser."

"When I get stressed I close my eyes and count to ten in between deep breaths." While Don drugged the unsuspecting woman's tea, he sweetly coached, "Good, just like that. You'll feel better in no time."

**Vision Cinemas, a popular independent theater in Vegas and THE place to see Brokeback Mountain, because it was showing on all four of its screens, had stadium love-seats, and the best gourmet snack bar**

**11:45 am **

"Suddenly I feel faint," Tony whispered in his wife's ear when they stopped in front of the movie poster depicting cuddling cowboys. "Seriously, you don't think they're actually going to show them naked and pounding each other, do you? It would have to be NC-17 then, not R, right?

Becca pointed to the rating box on the movie poster. "It says it's rated R for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence. I suppose that could mean naked pounding."

"Okay. No popcorn for me." Standing in the snack bar line listening to two gay guys ordering non-fat lattes with extra whip, he cringed.

"Hey, check it out." Always one to needle her husband about his insecurities, Mrs. Vartann pointed to the menu. "Would you rather have a foot long hot dog?"

"Cute."

"We're here!" Carrie waved and yanked Nick into the lobby. "Look who decided to come with me."

"Hey! What bet did you lose?" Tony asked his pal.

"I don't want to talk about it." Nick anxiously glanced around. "Where's my family? Where's Greg? They sure as hell better not be backing out of this."

"They all got their food and went inside already. Becca couldn't decide what she was craving." He stared her down. "Make up your mind, Honey."

"Popcorn and a mango smoothie," she confirmed. "Ms. Blake, do you need to powder you nose before..."

"Definitely, because the movie is over two hours long."

Nick and Tony exchanged pained looks and mouthed 'two hours'.

"Nicky, can you get me a hot dog and a Diet Coke?" Carrie pecked his cheek. "Be right back."

When the women were gone, Tony nudged his buddy, "Can you believe how excited they are over taking us to see this freak show? What's the deal?"

"No kidding. I swear, Carrie's more giddy over this than her damn birthday gifts."

"Why do straight chicks go ga-ga over watching C Gobblers anyway?"

"Hell, don't ask me." Nick shoved his hands in his pockets. "Why would anyone want to watch two people of the same sex gettin' it on?"

"Unless they're chicks."

"Well, yeah, I thought that was implied, man."

"Hey, Nick!" A man's voice shot through the lobby.

"Friend of yours?" Tony pointed and wondered.

"Uh, an acquaintance." When Nick saw Tawny's burly stripper friend on approach with three other guys, he forced a smile, "Hey, Todd Stanton, right?"

"Right. I heard from Mimi at Tweeters that Tawny's in the hospital. Are the babies okay?"

Nick straightened up as the six foot-four suntanned stud loomed over him. "Yeah, yeah, they had a little scare, but she's on bedrest now and they expect everything will be fine."

"Tell her I was asking about her and wish her well."

"Will do."

"Where are my manners?" Todd pointed to his friends. "This is Ty, Mason, and Hugh, they work with me at the club. Guys this is Nick Stokes, he's a CSI and…sorry, I don't know your friend's name, but he looks really familiar."

"Detective Tony Vartann," he firmly stated without offering his hand. "Our women are in the bathroom"

Hugh laughed into his fist. "Another hetero forced to the mountain by his woman."

"Vartann? **That's **where I saw you." Finally Todd placed the face. "You were working with Greg at Hidden Cove Apartments, when Dante was found dead. How could I forget? You bad mouthed Tawny and Greg popped you in the jaw."

"Ah." Tony nodded. "Yeah, I remember that. I married Greg's childhood friend, Becca, shortly after that. We're all good friends now. Greg's here with us actually."

Todd got irked as he recalled more details. "You were a real ass to me and my friends that day. I debated reporting your badge number."

"That's why he's here." Nick rescued his buddy. "Seein' this movie is part of his sensitivity training. Yeah, it's a new thing. LVPD wants to make sure their cops are empathetic to people of all creeds, races, and sexual orientations."

"Wow!" Ty was thrilled by the news. "That's so cool! I just may have to find myself a man in blue after all. Is this your first trip to the mountain, cowboy?"

"Uh." Nick roughly cleared his throat. "Yeah, the one and only trip."

"It's my third. Oh! I laughed, I cried, I mostly cried." The flamboyant cocktail waiter tapped his shirt pocket. "Take my advice, keep some tissues ready, boys. It's not exactly a happy ending."

**The Morgue **

**11:56 am **

"How did she die, Doc?" Gil buzzed into the room and over to the table.

"Who am I? Karnac the Magnificent?" The Coroner pushed up his sleeves. "I just got started, and I have a hunch that it will all come down to Tox anyway."

"A guy can ask."

"A guy can back off."

"Problems with the wife again?"

"Noooo." Doc snipped as he readied to make the first cut. "We were having a lovely weekend as a matter of fact, then one of my co-workers called and asked me to drop everything to save his ass."

Gil secretly enjoyed this crabby shade his long-time friend showed now and then. "It's important to me, because it's important to Jim."

"Maybe Jim should take dating advice from you and shit where he eats rather than at the Dominion."

"I'll be sure to pass your advice along."

"Thank you." Doc pointed to the door. "Now get out of here and let me get started already."

**Vision Cinemas**

**12:12 pm**

"It's starting," Carrie excitedly whispered in her man's ear as the previews came to a close.

"Yay." Nick slumped a little lower in his seat, which was strategically far away from his parents. "I can't believe I'm watchin' this movie with my mommy. I still squirm watchin' straight sex scenes with her." Sandwiched in between his fiancée and Greg, he knew he could safely cringe without offending the gay patrons or his sister.

Munching on popcorn, Greg leaned in and told his buddy, "I heard the cinematography is wonderful. Have you ever been to Wy…"

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Don't be leanin' in and whisperin' on me in the dark during this movie."

"It hasn't even officially started yet," Greg laughed, until he saw his buddy's irritation. "Do you want me to switch seats with your mommy?"

"I'd smack you, Greggo, but this crowd might mistake it for foreplay."

"Shhh!" An elderly woman sitting in the next row turned and scolded, "There's no talking after the previews end! Everyone knows that! I paid ten dollars to see this film and will not have it ruined by your smart mouth."

"I'm very sorry, Ma'am. I promise it not to do it again." But as soon as the woman turned around, Greg silently mimicked her, causing Nick to laugh out loud. Once again he faced the irritated woman's wrath, this time in the form of a burning glare.

"Nicky!" Jillian Stokes snapped at her boy. "Do you need to sit next to me?"

"No, ma'am." Feeling five again, Nick assured his mother, "I'll be good."

**Don Schultz's Home **

**12:43 pm **

"I have bad news." Don walked Mike back to the kitchen. "We have to kill the maid."

"Excuse me?"

"She was secretly taping the meeting, so she could collect from us and then sell the tape to Stokes."

The criminal mastermind stopped dead in his tracks. "Wow, I didn't see that coming. Honestly, I didn't think she was capable of thinking up something like that."

"Me either. I feel so used. Her sister's kid has cancer and she wanted extra cash to help her out and pay off her debts." Don pointed to the floor where the drugged maid was conveniently snoozing on a plastic tarp. "That was her excuse for double dipping."

"Greedy bitch," Mike laughed.

"She told her sister she was going to Pahrump to gamble at The Nugget, so here's what I'm thinking." Don grabbed a handful of pretzels to nibble on as he shared the devious details. "We stuff five grand in her purse wrapped in a note from Marta. The note says something like 'Here's your cash, now keep your mouth shut about what I did to break up Drew and Lissa'. Naturally that type of note would be unsigned, but they'll be able to match it to a true sample of the nanny's handwriting. We have Bart drive her out to Pahrump, taking a turn into the desert, and have it look like she was assaulted and killed on the way to the Nugget, where I'm sure she was going to parlay the five grand into more for her poor sick niece. The cops find the purse and note, which means they'll have to pull the nanny in for questioning. It's not as good as the original plan, but considering the circumstances, I think it's a pretty good bang for our buck. And we still have the tape from when we initially questioned Teresa. On that tape she says Marta and Drew are doing it like rabbits, having sex with the kids in the next room, drinking, lots of good stuff there. Thoughts?"

"Are we typing the note or is our favorite flawless forger available for the job?"

"He's already working on it," Don boasted. "What do you say?"

Mike broke into a satisfied smile. "I love you, man."

**Vision Cinemas**

**12:54 pm **

"No man love so far," Becca whispered to her husband. "It just feels like a good buddy pic, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda surprised," Tony replied before returning to silence. Leaning forward slightly, he saw Nick was engaged by the film, so he didn't feel bad for not being revolted. _I really thought this was going to be much worse. _Suddenly having an appetite, he picked up their half-full popcorn bucket from the floor and started chomping. _Uh oh, the sun's going down and they're drunk._ He stopped munching. _Okay, good, one's sleeping in the tent, one's outside. Keep it that way boys. Maybe this is why the gay guy thought the movie was sad…the guys never drop trou. _

When he saw the cowboy sleeping outside start shivering, Nick's spidey sense activated_. Here it comes._ He leaned into his fiancée, who had her legs draped over his knee. "Carr, could you move your…"

"Shh, not now."

"Seriously, I have to pee," he pleaded in a whisper. "Let me out."

"Hold it until after this scene," she mindlessly ordered, sensing something huge was about to happen.

_She's controlling when I can pee. When did I become this whipped?_ Nick sat back and folded his arms across his chest. _Oh Lord, he's goin' into the tent with the other one. This is it._ He gulped, but was relieved when he saw the cowboys immediately settled down to sleep. _Whoa! I can't believe he just…oh, yeah, I'd be pissed too if I was sleepin' and the other guy put my hand on his parts. He's gonna kick your ass now. _**"OH!" **His yelp echoed in the theater and he quickly brought his palm to his gaping mouth. _He's not gonna kick your ass he's gonna…holy hell, he's usin' a quick spit to…damn…my ass hurts from watching._ When he glanced over for a split second, he was relieved to see Greg was just as stunned by the rough sex occurring on the big screen. "Definitely not a recruitment film," he whispered to his buddy.

"No." Greg broke the rule and leaned over. "Hey, how much spit do you think he had in his mouth after drinking all night in freezing temperatures? I mean, he had to have cotton mouth, right?"

"I think you've been hangin' around Grissom too much if you're capable of analyzin' this scene scientifically…and you're leanin' on me."

"Sorry."

Watching the dark-haired cowboy take it, Nick suddenly felt bad for every woman he had ever done that to, regardless of the amount of preparation he had put forth to make the act pleasurable, or their proclaimed level of enjoyment during and after. "Daylight never looked so good," he mumbled in relief when the scene was over. _How the hell is that poor boy gonna ride a horse now?_

"Nicky," Carrie anxiously whispered in her fiancée's ear, "Sorry, I'm crossing that activity off my To Try list."

"Darlin' you couldn't** pay** me."

Worried about his brother's reaction, Greg glanced over his shoulder to check on Daniel. Just as he suspected, the virgin looked as white as a sheet next to Wade.

"Are you okay?" Becca whispered to her husband who looked like he wanted to flee with the dozen or so other people hurrying out of the theater. "Tony?"

"Not talking."

**Crime Lab **

**1:44 pm **

"Talk to me, Hodges!" Gil stood in the doorway waiting for good news.

"Peanut flour."

Grissom cocked his head. "Why would there be peanut flour in the holding cell?"

"I tell you what. You find out why."

"Goodbye, Hodges." Grissom huffed down the hall, answering his ringing cell when he reached his office. "Yes, Doc. The COD is…"

"Anaphylactic shock."

"The substance on her hands and in the cell was peanut flour, not drug powder. My guess is that Macie Thomas was severely allergic to peanuts."

"Wow. How did you make that leap?"

Grissom grumbled into the phone, "Go home and pick up where you left off with your wife, Albert."

"Too late. She just called, she wants to go to some wine tasting event in Pahrump."

**On the road to Pahrump**

**1:56 pm **

Bart Danson, expert kidnapper, hit man and cleaner, hummed along with the radio as he drove Teresa Valenzuela's Ford Taurus out of town. The car's owner was lounging in the passenger seat looking stylish with her dark designer sunglasses covering her closed eyes. "Are you having fun, Sweetheart?" He always enjoyed women most when they were unconscious.

"It won't be much longer now." They were on their way to a nice patch of desert he'd used once or twice for a similar job. Why mess with success, right?

Turning up the radio, he relaxed and contemplated how he would spend the money he had just received from his good buddy Mike and how he'd invest the huge sum he would be receiving in the future…the small fortune that Mike promised would be his upon completion of the biggest job of his life.

**Crime Lab – Grissom's Office**

**2:07 pm **

"It had to be an inside job," Catherine stated as she sat across from Sara and Grissom. "Someone had to put peanut flour in the right places and that person had to know that Macie would be in there and that she was severely allergic to peanuts."

"Could be suicide," Sara stated while munching on licorice bites.

"Suicide by peanut flour?" Gil couldn't remember a case like it, but humored his wife. "Let's explore that just for fun. She didn't leave a note, and why would she be suicidal? She was in the process of making a deal to give up Heather and a list of Dominion clients."

"I was joking, Honey."

"Back to the inside job," Catherine chuckled at the irritation on Gil's face. "Do you think…"

"Hold that thought." He answered his phone, "Grissom."

"Hey, Grissom, it's Sergeant Pike. We were bringing someone into the holding cell next to Macie Thomas's when we noticed a folded piece of paper sitting on the bench. We opened it up, and it said 'Lady Heather is a lying whore. I did what I could, but now it's time to die. See ya in hell, Suckers!' and it's signed 'Macie Two Facey'. She musta tossed it through the bars before she died. We dropped it on the bench as soon as we realized what it was, so if you want to send someone over here to process it."

"We'll be right there." Gil snapped the phone shut. "They found a suicide note in the empty cell next to where Macie died."

Catherine tossed the file she was holding. "Come on, that's crazy."

"Grissom!" Jas ran into the office waving a yearbook. "Macie Thomas is still alive."

Catherine jumped up from her seat. "I personally watched Doc slice her open."

"Don't worry, the girl in the morgue is dead," Jas explained, "but she's not Macie Thomas. Here's a photo of the real Macie Thomas who I just got off the phone with. She had no idea someone had been using her identity."

"We didn't get a DNA or print match when we ran Macie's for priors. I guess we're calling her Jane Doe now."

"Maybe that's why she referred to herself as Macie Two Facey, she wasn't the real face of Macie Thomas." Catherine headed for the door. "Well, one thing we know for sure is…the girl had issues."

"And she disliked Lady Heather," Sara added with an unintentional smile, "but so do a lot of people." She winked at her husband. "Not me. I don't have a problem with her."

**Don Schultz's House**

**2:41 pm**

"Do you think it's believable that Sara would have a problem with these photos?" Don held up a few of the shots stealthily taken that morning. "We've got Gil and Lady H having an intimate tea time while the Dominatrix is decked in sinful black leather. And we've got Gil sleeping at the Dominion. Gil using the bathroom to freshen up at the Dominion."

"They're great, Schultzy. Well worth offering up Macie as a sacrificial lamb." Mike enjoyed every frame. "We know that Sara trusts Gil and** she** would believe these photos are bullshit, but to anyone outside their circle…they look incriminating as hell."

"I still prefer the shots of Nick and Sofia. The one where she's on her knees at his crotch is a gem."

Mike pretending to be a crying little girl, "I like Steve Ogden wiping Carrie's tears in her office."

"I like that one, but it's too sweet. I'm hoping to catch something more lusty when they're on the business trip next week."

"Lusty? From Ogden?" Mike couldn't imagine it. "If we slip him some X, maybe there's a slim chance but..."

"It's worth a shot. We have him drugged and tripping all over himself."

"So Carrie has to bring him to his room."

"Maybe she'll even walk him inside and place him on the bed. Maybe even lose her balance and fall on top of him."

"I'm really glad the Nick and Greg queer thing fell apart, because this new plan is far superior."

"And thanks to Becca's big idea, we'll be able to move months earlier than planned."

"To Becca!" Mike raised his beer.

Don tapped his bottle to his buddy's. "To Becca."

After a gulp of cold brew, Mike smacked his lips. "It's all coming together, Schultzy."

"It's about damn time."

"Yeah," Mike grinned as the bottle left his lips. "And the best part about it is…they don't suspect a thing."

* * *

**Next Chapter Posting: Sunday, April 15 **

**I hope everyone had a nice weekend (a nice long one if you had Friday off or will have Monday).**

**Maggs**


	9. Chapter 9

**Laws of Motion – Book 4  
********Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 9 **

**Sunday, December 12, 2005 **

**The Vartann Home **

**6:14 am **

"You're such a smart guy." Sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her husband's hands, Becca pleaded, "You have to think of a way to get in Steve Ogden's apartment without breaking the law."

Just as Tony had predicted, his wife had been obsessing about psychic visions ever since learning of Lana Marcus's death.

_"Hey, everybody! Za's here!" Walking into the kitchen, Greg placed the stack of boxes on the kitchen island next to a pile of plates and napkins. "Three different kinds…Veggie, Meat Lovers, and Cheese." _

_"Thanks, Hoj." Becca dashed to the counter and grabbed a plate. "The twins are starving." _

_Tony used the opportunity to seek a five minute refuge from talking about the movie. "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the restroom." _

_"I'm still too depressed to eat," Carrie sighed, sitting on the couch next to her fiancée; she was still thinking of the movie's sad ending. "Katie and Jean, you lived that story until this year." _

_"I'm with ya, sugar." Jillian nodded, feeling terrible for her daughter. "I was already down when I went to the movie because of that sad story I heard on the news this morning. Did you hear it? This poor woman, Lana Marcus I believe her name was, she hit a progressive jackpot for three hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars and then just like that her luck changed and she dropped dead while the casino manager was handing her a check." _

_The crash of Becca's pizza plate followed by her blood-curdling scream sent everyone in the room jumping from their chairs. _

"He's a devout Mormon," Tony stated while massaging his temples. "He'll go to church today."

"But you can't break in, you've already said..."

"No, no of course not, but I have an idea that might work."

**Nick and Carrie's **

**7:55 am **

"Will this one of mine work?" Holding up his biggest suitcase, Nick said, "I don't know, Carr, your luggage breaking as you tried to shut it feels like a sign you shouldn't go on the trip."

She cupped his cheeks. "I think that's just your dislike of Steve talking, not your Spidey Sense."

"I'm sorry, but I seriously feel something is really wrong."

"I'm not going to miss out on meeting one of my role models. Making connections with lawyers like Tessa Steinway is integral to my career, Nicky. If you want to come with me you can."

"Hey, even I'll drive you."

Even though she was disappointed that Nick felt compelled to babysit her, she masked it well. "Steve asked me if I could swing by and pick him up on the way to the airport, I'll have to call and tell him I'll be driving instead."

"You do that." He rubbed his hands together. "I love the Long Beach Aquarium. I'll go there while you're at the conference."

"What are you going to tell Jim to justify asking for spontaneous vacation time? If you don't tell him something good, it's going to look like you're coming with me because we can't go two days without sex."

Suddenly feeling ridiculous, he backed off, "You're right, I'm nuts. Have a great time on your business trip." Hugging her tight, he kissed the top of her head. "You go impress the hell out of this Steinway woman. I'm sure it'll take thirty seconds for her to see you're a hot shot."

As Carrie moved to kiss her fiancé, she heard his pager beep.

"I told them not to bug me until my family leaves this afternoon." He read through the text. "It's Grissom. Catherine's tapped and they just got a call, two DBs about twenty miles outside of Pahrump."

"I love you." Brushing her lips over his, she whispered, "I'll be fine, Tex. Go do your job."

**The Blakes **

**9:03 am **

"There's something I need to tell all of you about my job." Paul stood in the kitchen, smiling at his family. "My boss left a message on my cell saying I won the sales incentive reward."

"Really?!" Wendy wiped her wet hands on her apron and threw her arms around Paul's neck. "I'm so proud of you, Honey!"

"What's the reward, Dad?" Ryan anxiously asked. "A million dollars?! A yacht? A jet?"

"A trip to Disneyland?!" McKenna jumped up and down.

Unlike his brother and sister, Sean patiently waited for the answer, but secretly hoped there would be enough money to buy him a new microscope.

"It's an all expenses paid trip, but sorry, Kenna, it's to Puerta Vallarta, not Disneyland."

"Puerta Vallarta!" Wendy shrieked, "That's where we had our honeymoon, kids! I can't believe it, really?"

"Merry Christmas, Wen." Paul snatched a kiss. "We can either go next week when the kids begin vacation, or when they have off next spring. Or we could leave the kids with your dad and go anytime I guess."

"No!" all three Blake children vetoed.

"Gee, let me think," the burnt-out housewife teased, "next week!"

"Are there princesses in Portavarta, Daddy?" McKenna sweetly asked while tugging on his pant leg.

"No, honey, but we're going to be staying at a pretty resort that looks like a princess's home and you can pretend to be the princess who lives there. Because the trip comes with some spending money, I'll even buy you a new fancy dress."

"Yay!"

Seeing his brother's confusion, Sean whispered, "Puerta Vallarta is a city on the Mexican Riviera."

"That's sounds boring."

"It's a tourist city and it's warm there, so there will be lots of babes in bikinis." _And tons of exotic bugs!_ "And Mexican people eat **a lot** of meat."

Ryan hugged his father, "I love you, Dad!"

**Drew's House **

**9:22 am **

"I love you, Daddy." Katie savored the time in her father's arms. "Thank you for offering to host a commitment ceremony at the ranch for Jean and me."

"I figure we'll gather the family for that, and the next day we'll have my retirement party."

"Retirement?"

"You're the first to hear after your mother."

"But you love your career. You're not sick, are you?"

"No," Jillian answered for her husband. "This year has taken its toll and I want to enjoy life with him while we're still spry enough to enjoy it."

"Your mother's right." Judge Stokes pressed his lips to his daughter's forehead. "And I'm tired of my family takin' hits because of my occupation and position in the community. I'll retire, work on my legacy book that I've been talkin' about for decades, and live out the rest of my days being a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. With three more grandchildren on the way next year…"

"Four." Tears slipped from Katie's eyes as she moved to Jean's side. "We tested this morning and the line turned blue."

"Uh." Judge Stokes glanced over at his wife.

"They told me first thing this morning. Quentin's the daddy and Jean is the pregnant one."

"Quentin? But…Quentin and Katie got divorced."

Jillian winked at her husband, "You're a smart man, Bill…connect the dots."

"Hey, there," Drew breezed into the family room. "What's goin' on? Dad you look a little…ah." Seeing how cluttered the place was, he apologized, "I'm very sorry y'all. I know it's not up to Stokes standards, I apologize. Our maid has apparently quit without notice. She's not even answerin' her cell."

**Ken Blake's Mercedes **

**9:34 am **

With an untraceable cell phone pressed to his ear, Ken listened to his trusted friend and conspirator.

"The place is like Fort Knox," Carlos Reyes huffed. "I've seen the specs for the security system. It has to happen outside his home. On the job is the best way to go, I keep telling you that."

"And I keep telling you that we can't risk Nick being suspected. He has access to Dispatch. They'll say he knew where our target was dispatched and went there to make the kill. The whole point of this operation is to protect my family and ensure their happiness. If Nick goes to jail for that bastard's murder, then my daughter is destroyed. The only reason I haven't walked up to the monster and shot him dead is because my incarceration would cause Carrie and my grandchildren pain."

"Then we need a place and Nick needs an air tight alibi. This would be so much easier if Nick could be included."

Ken smiled, "That boy doesn't see things like we do, Carlos. He still believes in the beauty of the justice system and doesn't support vigilante justice under any circumstances. He'd turn his own mother in to preserve the ideal. But fear not, I thought of something that might work."

"What?"

"My daughter's friend, Rebecca Vartann, was telling me about her big charity fashion show and I got an idea."

**Oak Glen Villas **

**9:52 am **

Hoping to calm down Becca by proving her wrong, Tony patiently waited in the hallway of Steve Ogden's apartment building to carry out his plan.

Leaning against a wall, he openly wore his badge and pretended to write a police report. _I can't believe I'm doing this. I can NOT believe I'm doing this._ But the truth was, he'd do just about anything for his troubled wife. Rebecca Turnball Vartann was hard to love, and at times like this, a lesser man would have found it impossible, but Tony wasn't a quitter. He was committed to standing by her, no matter how intense her obsessions or mental illness became. He wanted the honor of being the only man in Becca's entire life to not give up on her and walk away.

After waiting twenty minutes, Tony's patience paid off. "Ogden?! Hey, it is you." He approached quickly, so the man wouldn't have time to shut the door. "What a lucky break."

"Detective Vartann." The ADA smiled at the man who was a consummate professional when testifying. "What brings you here?"

"I…before I go into that," Tony grabbed his stomach and skirted the question, "this is a little embarrassing, but could I ask a favor?" He anxiously shifted on his feet. "I was in a rush this morning and grabbed a burrito from one of those skanky taco stands. It's like a friggin' lead balloon in my gut." He rubbed his stomach. "I'm dying for a restroom. Could I pop in and use yours real quick? Seriously, I think I may have food poisoning."

"It's a little messy," Steve balked. "There's a restroom at the…"

"I'm not a chick, Ogden, I don't care about messy homes." Tony stared him down, while pretending to joke, "Unless there's another reason you wouldn't want a member of LVPD in your apartment." He laughed, "You got coke lines on your coffee table or are you growing weed in your kitchen? I promise to look the other way." He elbowed the jittery man, "Just don't tell your boss." Grabbing his stomach, he groaned, "Shit, I think I'm going to hurl. Seriously, can I use…"

"Yes," Steve pointed, "the guest bath is just inside to the left." He remained in the open doorway, hoping the unexpected guest wouldn't take long.

"Thanks, man." Thrilled to have legal access, Tony zipped inside and after a quick glance, darted into the bathroom and shut the door. _You owe me, Becca!_ He turned on the water and wet his face and hair to give himself a sweaty appearance. "Oh…" He groaned loud enough for the tenant to hear him.

"Detective Vartann?" Steve walked into his apartment, leaving the door open behind him.

"I'm really sick." Tony had to make it as real as possible, to avoid any suspicion of entrapment. Just as he had done frequently to get out of going to school as a boy, he used his talent for self-induced vomiting to prop his story. "Oh!" He made sure to miss the toilet and spew all over the floor. "Ogden!" He threw open the door and stumbled out the bathroom. "S…sorry…I'm so sick." Clutching his wet hair, he headed for the living room, walking like a disorientated victim of horrific food poisoning. "Do you…do you have some Sprite?" With Steve on his heels, Tony rushed through the apartment opening every door, pretending to look for the kitchen. "Where's your…"

"No! Not in there!" Steve screamed.

From the man's panicked scream, Tony knew he must be in the right spot, so he dropped to the floor with a feigned stomach cramp.

"Please! Don't get sick in here!" Steve rushed to help the detective to his feet. "You have to get out!"

The quaint pink room was not what the detective expected to see.

"This is my daughters' room. They never lived here, but I…it's a memorial." Steve went to the book shelf adorned with plush animals and took a framed photo in his trembling hands. "These are Taralee and Sharene's things." His voice cracked, "They were four and two when they passed. My wife was pregnant with our third…my son."

Noting Ogden's pained expression, Tony gulped, "How?"

"A drunk driver crossed the line and slammed head on into my wife's van. The girls were in car seats and survived the crash, but the van caught fire." Tears streamed down his cheeks. "My little girls were incinerated before they could be saved. My wife was freed by a Good Samaritan right before the explosion, but she was pronounced dead on arrival. The baby, while born, wasn't viable. I…I got to hold him though, I got to hold him." Clutching the photo to his chest, Steve cried, "Memories and the things in this room are all I have left of them, so please…be careful not to soil anything."

As Steve dropped to his knees, Tony's mind drifted and he heard Becca's voice…

_I'm telling you, I **know **Steve Ogden is a creep! It's in my head as clear as day! A really sunny clear day, not a cloudy day or even a partly cloudy one. I'm telling you, it's crystal creepy clear! First he's holding a picture of a little girl in a bathing suit, and then he's crying while the cops swarm the place. We can't ignore this. You have to do something! Little kids are in danger. _

"I'm so sorry, Steve." Tony held out his hand. "Could I see the photo?"

"It was taken at the beach…our last family vacation. Taralee is the one in the bathing suit, Sharene has her little terry cloth cover-up on." With trembling hands, Steve shared the photo. "My wife made the outfits. She was very handy that way. She loved being a mother. It's all she ever wanted to be. We were hoping to be blessed with six children." He sobbed, "But God had other plans. I have put my faith in Him to reveal the purpose for this devastation, I'm still waiting." Crying from the soul, he repeated, "I'm still waiting to know why."

Feeling legitimately nauseous now, Tony stared at the photo. _I'm the cop who swarmed this place. The little girl in the bathing suit is his daughter. _"I'm so sorry, Steve, so sorry."

"Could you please not tell anyone about this breakdown? I have to appear mentally fit to work in the courts…"

"Please don't worry."

"You have a reputation as a tough guy, Detective." Steve wiped his eyes. "You've probably never shed a tear in your life."

"Not true, not by a mile." Tony dropped a hand on the tormented man's shoulder. "I cried a few this morning actually." The words had just rolled off his tongue, and he felt immediately embarrassed by the admission.

"Why?"

"Because I was worried about my wife." Exhaustion and Steve's heartache triggered Tony's emotions, and he felt his eyes well. "My first love was murdered by her estranged father, then my first wife lost her way and we divorced. As you know from working with LVPD, Amy became so despondent; she ended up taking her life." Tears spilling, he confessed, "I couldn't help them. They died because I couldn't help them. Now Becca isn't well, she suffers from OCD, a mood disorder, and she has manic episodes. We were able to manage it with medications, but she's pregnant now, she can't take what she really needs and I'm afraid…I'm afraid I'll end up losing her like the rest of them. I **will** lose her if I can't help her, and it will be my fault because I wanted a baby. I had no business getting her pregnant when she was sick, no business…" Crying into his hands, he rambled, "We have millions of dollars…millions…but money can't buy her peace of mind. I love her with all my heart, but my love isn't enough. I…I don't know what to do. She's losing a little more of her mind every day and all I can do is watch. You asked me why I'm here. I'm here because of her. I…I don't know what to do."

"You can pray. I'll pray with you."

Glancing up with tears still streaming from his eyes, Tony vacantly replied, "God let a four year old girl get sodomized in North Vegas last week. If he had **any **ability to help, he would have stopped that, don't you think? You're waiting around for a reason God took your wife and children, I'll tell you the answer…he didn't take them for a reason, he didn't take them at all. He didn't want them dead for a special purpose, Steve. He just couldn't stop them from dying. He couldn't take that drunk's keys. He couldn't make your wife's van swerve. He has no influence. None!" Wiping his face, he regained his composure. "Maybe he had power at one time, back when the world wasn't so screwed up, but it's gone now."

"I don't believe that's true."

"Think about this then." Tony huffed, "If it's not true, then God let's little girls get raped and watches little boys get their brains blown out over bicycles. I don't have much use for a God like that, why do you? I'd much rather believe that God is up there with his hands tied, then free to let that shit happen."

"Maybe you're thinking tangibly about something intangible." The devout Mormon clutched the photo of his girls tight enough to snap the glass. "God works in mysterious ways. Maybe he works through **people **to save the world. Good people."

Tony stood and took a steadying breath. "If it's up to people, then I feel pretty confident saying the world is doomed."

"You're wrong." Sitting on his knees, Steve looked at the man looming over him. "There are still good people in the world, Detective."

"Really?"

"I'm looking at one of them. You stand before me, a man who loves his mentally ill wife unconditionally. That's a rare find today when people get divorced simply because they can't agree on a couch."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not the saint you think I am."

"I think…" As he rose higher on his knees, Steve's voice became a melodic whisper, "I think you work when you don't need to, and you work a job that most don't want. You tried to help Jamal Jones have a better life when you didn't have to." Extending a shaky hand, Steve smiled, "I think God put you here to help those in need. You're one of them, you are. I see it now. He works through you."

"Um, I'll be honest, Steve…you're uh…" Tony harshly cleared his throat. "You're freaking me out a little here. Is there someone I could call for you? I think all this talk of your wife has thrown you off balance. You're sounding a little nuts. Trust me, I know what nuts sounds like, I live with a crazy person, two actually, because I'm not really that sane anymore myself." Watching the man trembling before him, he prodded, "Do you need help, Steve?"

"Yes," the words just spilled out, "two doors down the hall on the left…my office."

Confused by the words, Tony cocked his head

"Tell her I'm sorry." Steve lowered his head. "So sorry."

His curiosity maxed, the detective hurried out of the room and down the hall. _Two doors on the left._ He felt the wall for a switch, and when he flipped it, what he saw made him gasp. Every inch of one wall was a shrine to Carrie. Tony's hand covered his gaping mouth. "Holy shit." He stepped closer, focusing on a newspaper clipping. It was Nick and Carrie's engagement announcement, only Steve had doctored it with his name and photo. "Jesus Christ, I'll say you need help!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an open suitcase. _That's right, he was going to LA with Carrie on business._

His gut propelled him forward for a closer look. _Pretty warm clothes for LA even in December._ He lifted the heavy wool sweater and what he saw beneath it, duct tape and chloroform, had him drawing his weapon. "Ogden!"

Tony stood in the doorway of the pink bedroom with his gun trained on the man vacantly staring at the floor. "Don't move."

"Steve?!" Carrie's voice shot through the apartment. "Your door is wide open. Is everything okay? It's time to go."

His heart filling with joy, Ogden lifted his head. "I'm here! Are you ready to go away with me?!"

"Don't move!" Tony held the gun with two hands. "It's Tony, Carrie!" He backed into the hall, keeping his eyes on the psychopath while giving instructions. "You gotta trust me here, okay?"

"What are you doing?!" Seeing Vartann's drawn gun, she clutched her chest. "What's going on?"

"Just take out your cell and call 911."

Her whole body shaking, Carrie scrambled to pull her phone from her purse.

"Tell them I need officer backup. I want you to wait in your car for them and direct them up here, okay? I know this is scary and confusing, but I promise it will make sense and I'll explain it as soon as the backup takes over."

Rushing out of the apartment, she yelled into the phone, "This is Assistant District Attorney Blake, I'm with Detective Vartann at Oak Glenn Villas, 1745 Jasper Lane. Apartment 4C. He needs backup ASAP."

"What's the emergency?"

"He has a gun pointed, I don't know what the problem is. He asked me to make the call while running out of the building. He ordered me to wait in my car."

**Nick's Denali **

**11:21 am **

Sliding out of his truck, Nick waved, "Doc! This is a nice surprise."

Standing over the male body, the Coroner explained, "The wife and I were in Pahrump for a wine tasting yesterday and we decided to spend the night. I made the colossal mistake of mentioning that to Grissom, and he called me to come here."

"What are we lookin' at?" He glanced around. "Who's the detective?"

"Some local bozo. Peabody." Doc pointed, "He's over there with the uniforms shooting the breeze.

Nick grabbed a ball cap along with his kit. "Sunny day."

"Yeah." Doc motioned to the dead woman about twenty yards from a Ford Taurus. "Female, forty-two, appears to have been sexually assaulted with a beer bottle before having her throat slit."

Grimacing at the words, Nick tugged on the ball cap. "And the man?"

Doc smiled, "You're going to love this."

"Really?" Nick droned, "Why's that?"

"He died from a rattlesnake bite."

Nick crouched down to inspect the body. "Look at that." Suddenly his eye caught the glint of the metal object in the deceased's clenched hand. "Oh this** is** cool. Scumbag here assaults and kills the woman and then gets bit by a snake and dies before making his escape."

"Maybe there's an ounce of justice left in this world after all."

Leaving his kit on the ground, Nick walked to see the woman. "What the…" He whirled around. "This is my brother's housekeeper!"

"Are you sure?" Doc hurried as fast as his bum leg could carry him. "They said her name was Teresa…"

"Valenzuela, yeah." Nick grabbed his cell to call Drew, but before he could punch the numbers, the phone rang. "Carr! This call I'm workin', the vic is my brother's housekeeper! I was just about to…" He clutched the phone. "Darlin'…why are you cryin'?"

"You were right."

"Right about what, Sweetheart?"

"About Steve." She broke down sobbing. "When I went to his apartment…I was so scared, he…he had duct tape and…"

"He what?! What did he do to you, Carrie?!" Gripping Doc's shoulder as his knees weakened, Nick yelled into the phone. "Did he touch you?! My God, Carrie, did he hurt you?! No, no, no," his voice cracked, "please tell me he didn't rape you."

"No, he didn't. He didn't…" she squeaked, "I'm fine. He didn't lay a hand on me. It's a long story, but Vartann got to the apartment about twenty minutes before me. If he hadn't…I'm so scared."

"I know you are, Sweetheart, I can hear it in your voice. You're terrified." Nick sucked in a gulp of air and shook his head at Doc, who looked worried sick. "She's okay."

"He was planning to chloroform me when we got into my car and kidnap me, not for ransom, but…to keep me. Nicky, please come to the station, I'm at the station with Tony. They need to ask me questions and…I'm shaking, I can't stop shaking. I could be duct taped and on my way to Utah right now. This morning could have been the last time we saw each other. Please come here. Why does this keep happening to us?" she whimpered. "Please come here."

"I'm on my way, Sweetheart, you hear me?" His eyes filled with tears. "I love you, Carr."

"I love you too, Nicky," she choked out. "I'm sorry for not believing you."

"Shh, shh, let's not go there." He paced the desert. "It'll take me about an hour, Sweetheart. You wanna keep talkin' or…"

"Sara just got here and my dad's on his way, I'll be okay."

"Okay." When the call ended, he released a primal scream. "I knew it! I knew it! I can't believe I backed down! I **never **should have backed down about the trip!"

"She's okay though, right?" Doc waved for the officers just in case he needed help calming down the agitated CSI. "He didn't even touch her, right?"

The shock and the thought of her narrowly escaping being kidnapped and eventually raped by Ogden made Nick sick to his stomach.

"What the hell is going on?" Detective Peabody asked when he saw the CSI on his knees puking. Laughing, he told the uniforms, "I thought these Sin City CSIs were supposed to be tough. A snake bite and a slit throat brings them to their knees? Wimps. Wait till I tell…OW!" The poke of the coroner's cane hitting him squarely in the ribs stunned him.

"He just found out his fiancée was almost assaulted, God you're an ass." Doc hobbled over to help Nick to his feet. "A uniform picked me up at the hotel. I'll drive back with you to Vegas, I'll call the missus to let her know."

"Thanks, Doc." Nick wiped his face, the dirt on his hands sticking to his tear tracks. "I can't believe this is happening."

**LVPD **

**11:41 am **

_I can't believe this is happening!_ Officer Rodgers listened to the details as Steve Ogden was processed. _First I don't get an all-clear call from Danson about the Stokes maid, and now this!_ _I thought Ogden was creepy, but shit, I didn't know he was a god damn psychopath! I needed that bastard to make the new plan work. And where the hell is Danson!_

"We got a next of kin coming in on the female vic found outside of Pahrump. Vics name is Teresa Valenzuela, her sister Vanessa will be here to ID the body when it gets here." Detective Vega bumped into Officer Rodgers as he was filling in Officer James.

"Stop daydreaming about that sexy ass wife of yours, Mike," James joked. "Isn't there enough going on for you today?"

Vega returned to the briefing, "The male vic, Trey Thompson, was killed by a rattlesnake bite and…"

"Did you just say Trey Thompson?!" Mike whirled around. It was one of Bart Danson's aliases. "Uh…" Realizing he had slipped, he hurried to cover, "Sorry, I thought that name sounded familiar, but I just realized that it's Trey **Tomlinson** that I knew at UNLV." _Killed by a rattlesnake!_ As his big plan took another turn for the worse, the room started to spin. _What if Danson had something on him to implicate me? What if he didn't clean up the maid before he got bit?_ "You need help on this one, Vega?" He hurried after the detective. "I'm off shift, but…"

"No, we got it, thanks."

Beads of sweat started to form on Mike's forehead. "Okay, just thought I'd check."

**Steve Ogden's Apartment **

**12:09 pm **

"What was Vartann here to check?" Brass asked Grissom while studying the Carrie shrine.

"Puppies for sale. A woman in 2B had placed an advertisement in this morning's paper for Westie puppies. He says he came here to see about getting one as a surprise for Becca."

"2B?" Brass glanced at his friend. "Why was he on the 4th floor?

"That's what I said."

"What was his answer?"

"He walked around to see if there were any neighbors up and about, so he could ask them if the woman in 2B treated her dogs well. He didn't want to risk buying his wife a sickly puppy, because Becca has abandonment issues and if the puppy were to die, it would upset her. While doing that, he felt sick from the burrito he had eaten before coming here. He saw Ogden and asked to use his bathroom."

Brass returned to gazing at the photos. "So the detective was doing a clandestine background check on a Westie breeder and ended up vomiting in the apartment of Carrie's stalker?"

Grissom nodded, "It's a good story, and any cop would buy it, but not a CSI. Between you and me, Vartann lied. I called him on it in private, but it's irrelevant, so there's no need to go on record stating he did."

"No Westies for sale in 2B?"

"No, that part is true."

"Huh?" Brass turned to his friend. "How did you know he lied?"

"He vomited on the floor, and there was no evidence of burrito in the spew. If he had vomited in the toilet, I wouldn't have known."

"So how did he really end up here?"

"According to Vartann…Becca had a psychic vision that something was wrong with Ogden." Grissom continued to study the wall of photos. "According to Steve Ogden's emotional ramblings, it was divine intervention."

"God sent Vartann?" Brass chuckled, "Maybe it's because I've gotten drunk with the guy too many times, but I'm having a hard time with God choosing Vartann for the second coming."

Still off balance from what could have happened to Carrie, Grissom sighed, "Chaos Theory, Becca's psychic ability, dumb luck, divine intervention…choose whichever one is compatible with your beliefs."

"Okay." Brass stood in the center of the room looking pensive. "Hey, do we know if Vartann's mother slept with his father? Because if he was conceived immaculately…"

**Drew's House **

**12:15 pm **

"How do two women make a baby, Mom?" Jessie, a curious teenager, asked as she and her mother made the guestroom bed. "They didn't cover that in the movies we watched at school."

"Uh…" Kendra Stokes-Garrison gave an anxious smile, "I'm not exactly sure how your Aunt Katie and Jean did it, as there are a few ways, but I feel safe in sayin' it was conceived out of love."

"Avoidance!" The teen chuckled, "If hope you don't let witnesses on the stand get away with lame responses like that."

"I'm contract lawyer, sugar, I don't grill people on the stand"

"That's okay, Mom." Jessie strolled for the door, "I'll just ask Peyton Branson when I get back home, she knows** everythin' **there is to know about sex. She learned it all this summer when she went to Camp Dunmore."

"Get back here!"

**LVPD **

**12:21 pm **

"I'm here!" Holding his cell, Nick rushed for the front door. "Just parked my truck."

"I'll meet you in the lobby," Carrie cried into the phone.

Stuffing his phone in his pocket, he raced into the building.

"Nicky!" Carrie ran for her fiancé's arms.

"I'm right here." He grabbed her, pulling her into his chest. "I'm right here."

Every cop, staff member and civilian in the lobby stopped what they were doing to watch the emotional reunion.

"I shouldn't have backed down," Nick whispered in Carrie's ear as she cried against his chest. "I knew in my gut somethin' wasn't right. I'm sorry for letting you down."

"No, I made you feel ridiculous about worrying when I should have trusted you."

"It's okay." He squeezed tighter still. "You're okay." While holding his fiancée, Nick saw Mike Rodgers step into the lobby.

"Nick!" Mike walked over. "Hell of a scare, huh? Wow, that Ogden is a first rate whackjob." As anxious as he was about his plans turning to shit, he couldn't resist tweaking the cowboy. "Can you **imagine** what would that psycho would have done to her, if he had taken her captive?" He winked. "I can."

Pushing Carrie away, Nick lunged for Rodgers. "I'm through playing around with you, man!" He slammed the bastard against the wall. "Do you hear me?!" He slammed him a second time. "Do you?! Grissom, Greg, me, we're all done with your bullshit! If you ever talk to or touch Carrie again I'll kill you!"

"Stokes!" Officers Nelson and Simcox pulled the CSI off their fellow officer.

"It's okay," Mike straightened his uniform. "He's a wreck because of what happened this morning, and it's no secret that Nicky is an emotional guy who goes off without thinking sometimes. It's okay, no harm no foul." While Nick was restrained, he took the liberty of tapping the CSI's cheek. "It's all good."

"Don't touch me you lying sack of shit!" Nick snarled.

"It's cool," Mike told the officers. "Just give me a head start out of the building," he chuckled. "We're good." He strolled to the door. _**Really **good, Nicky…because you just set up my new plan. Even if something from Danson's death is traced to me, by the time it comes together, it won't matter. _Donning his sunglasses, he stepped outside. The birds were chirping once more. "Good thing I have the day off," he snickered, "I have a lot to do."

* * *

Thanks for reading! 

_Grissom sighed, "Chaos Theory, Becca's psychic ability, dumb luck, divine intervention…choose whichever one is compatible with your beliefs." _There have been many moments like this on the show with Grissom, and I love stories that have elements of the unexplainable, that's why I've chosen to work that into LoM and feel it is plausible. Even though we can't explain it (cue X Files music) the truth is out there. Some of the characters will be speculating (kind of a eerie telling ghost stories around the campfire feel) and it's fun to write from their different perspectives (kind of like how Rashomama was a fun CSI eppy when we saw how Nick, Greg, Sara, and Grissom each saw the wedding drastically different).

Hopefully the chapter had some good suspense and that you could visualize the scene at Ogden's well enough. (FYI just because it's been a while - Carrie told the story of Steve's family being killed in Book 3, Chapter 44. He mentions his wife and baby being DOA in Book 4, Chapter 2.)

This chapter was about 5500 words instead of 10000, and marks a return to the old format of shorter chapters, but more frequently updated. With lots of action ahead, I think it's better to have them more frequently, than longer. Lots of set up in this chappie, and some humor with the Blakes and Jessie the curious teen. I hope it was a good ride J Tony is up for an Oscar for Best Dramatic Actor.

I'm not going to put a specific day up for the chapter. I'll just be banging away at the keys between this one and the other one and post them as soon as KJT edits J

**Thanks,**

**Maggs**


	10. Chapter 10

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 10**

**Sunday, December 12, 2005**

**Nick and Carrie's  
****3:04 pm **

"How is she doin', Sugar?" Jillian asked her son when he entered the kitchen. She had been sitting at the table with her husband, anxiously waiting for an update for almost an hour. "Any better?"

"Worse." Carrying his fiancée's empty water glass to the counter, he said, "She's in the shower practically scalding herself. The creep didn't touch her, but she says she can feel him all over her." Filling the glass with fresh water, he sighed, "We called her doctor, and he phoned in a prescription for Valium. I don't want to leave her to get it though."

"I'll go." Bill Stokes stood and reached into his pocket for his rental car keys. "Just tell me where."

"Take a right at the corner, go six blocks, make a left and you'll see a CVS."

"Anything else I can pick up while I'm out?"

"Yeah, um…there's a bakery in the strip mall there. Could you buy some brownies? They're her favorite." Nick reached for his wallet.

"It's on me." The stoic father gave his son a pat. "I'll be right back."

"Thanks, Dad." As his father walked out the side door, Nick turned his gaze to the window above the sink. "Grissom called, they're lettin' Ogden go."

The seasoned lawyer nodded, "No crime was committed and I'm sure the DA doesn't want the bad press."

"I disagree, Mama. I think he committed a robbery. He stole Carrie's peace of mind. She's not just back to where she was when I met her, she's all the way back to that scared little girl when that bastard swim coach abused her." His anger building, Nick gripped the edge of the sink. "She trusted Ogden, she defended him to me when I didn't trust him, she admitted she cried on his shoulder when she heard the news of Jamal's murder…she even prayed with the bastard. She's beatin' herself up over it."

"It's only been five hours, she'll bounce back."

"You don't know what it's like to trust someone with ulterior motives, to let that person be alone with you, to touch you in what is a friendly manner in your mind, but a perversion in theirs. I know **exactly** what that's like. You feel stupid and then you blame yourself for fallin' for their act. Since you can't trust your judgment anymore, you have no choice but to distrust everyone goin' forward."

"But she trusts you, Nicky, now more than ever, because you were right about Ogden."

"That's makin' it worse." He hung his head. "On top of everything else, she feels like she's betrayed me." Welling up, he confessed, "I think I'm done."

Stunned by the words, Jillian snipped, "For better or worse, Nicky. You haven't stood before the Lord and taken your vows yet, but…"

"No, I don't mean that." Drained, he looked to his mother for strength. "I'm done here, Mama," he sucked in a breath, "I'm wanna sell the house, gather my money and take Carrie away somewhere to live a quiet life together. We've done more than our fair share, we don't have to save the world one case at time anymore."

"That sounds reasonable, really it does…for other people, but not for us." She lovingly lectured, "We don't give up, Nicky. We never have, and you're not startin' the trend. It's not in our blood. Takin' Carrie away somewhere to love her is a romantic way of sayin' you're scared to death to stay here, but the truth is, Carrie's safety won't be guaranteed anywhere you go. You could move to the middle of the woods and she could get attacked by a bear while readin' a book in a hammock." Wiping his tears with her thumbs, she sweetly said, "Runnin' isn't the answer, I know you know that. You don't run. You dig your heels in deeper and show the world you can handle whatever you're thrown. That's the way we've always done it and that's what you're going to do, that's what you're going to encourage Carrie to do, and that's what you're going to teach your children to do." She patted his cheek. "Now say, yes, Ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am," he robotically vowed as his mother squeezed him tight.

"There you go." After a kiss to his cheek, Jillian guided her son out of the room. "Now go check on that girl of yours."

**The Vartanns  
****3:11 pm **

"She's been bouncing off the walls the whole time," Scott Sanders whispered to Tony when he met the detective at the door connecting the kitchen to the garage. "I'm sorry, I tried my best."

"I appreciate your efforts," Tony tossed his jacket on a kitchen chair.

"I should warn you…she has a new great idea."

"Tony!" Becca rushed across the kitchen waving her arms. "I thought I heard the garage!" Throwing her arms around his neck, she excitedly relayed her latest brainstorm, "I think I should spend some quality time with Mike Rodgers and see if I can get some psychic vibes off him. Imagine if I could see what he's secretly up to."

Feeling his wife's racing heart pounding against his chest, Tony asked, "You really expect me to let my pregnant wife go hang out with a killer?"

"When you put it like **that** it sounds crazy."

"No, it sounds crazy any way you put it, Honey."

"But nothing is going to happen to me or the babies, silly. I've seen the twins happy and healthy at their birthday party, remember?"

Scott gave Tony's shoulder a squeeze before heading for the door. "Hang in there, Buddy. And, Becca…please take a breather for your husband's sake, he's had a rough day."

"Okay, Mr. S!" Once she was alone with her husband, Becca made another plea, "I don't have to be alone with Rodgers, you can be there. We could ask him and his bitchy wife over for dinner. Oh! I know! We could ask them to party with us, but make an excuse before we actually have sex. That way, while you're in one room with Lissa, I'll focus on…"

With his hand over his wife's mouth, Tony very clearly said, "Over my dead body. Got it?"

Becca nodded, deciding that she would find a way to meet with Rodgers without her husband's knowledge.

"I'll remove my hand, but you have to let me talk." When she nodded again, he kept his promise. "Thank you. Now, you came to me and told me you had a vision of Ogden. I listened to you, I came up with a plan, and I saved the day like a superhero, right?"

"Yes! You were spectacular!"

"That's right." He swept his wife off her feet and into his arms. "And before we talk about any new plans, I want what's due to me." He started for the stairs. "This hero wants to get the girl and he's not going to do anymore heroics until he does."

"Of course," she snickered in his ear, "and the girl wants you to have her."

Tony hurried up the stairs, praying the distraction would work. "This hero wants you to take your time too. He wants to be spoiled rotten; a full body massage would be an excellent start."

As they reached the bedroom, Becca warmed up her fingers. "Name your oil."

"Surprise me." He gently placed her on the bed. "Now if you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to powder my nose before I get lucky."

"Sure thing, Baby." She opened her nightstand drawer. "I'll be waiting."

"Put on some nice music and light some candles too, okay?" He hurried for the bathroom.

"Anything my hero wants, he gets!"

"That's the spirit!" Upon locking the bathroom door, he raced for the medicine cabinet_. Good thing I still have my party stash_. He plucked a Levitra pill from the prescription bottle, hoping it would buy him a couple of hours. "I'm forcing my mentally ill psychic wife to be my whore so she'll stop obsessing for two hours." He swallowed the pill. "Oh yeah, they're getting a real special place in hell ready for me."

**Don Schultz's Home  
****3:22 pm **

"Your mind scares me, Mike." Don raised his beer bottle. "That's a brilliant plan."

"Now I owe Nicky **and** Becca."

"With all the people who need miracles in this world, do you ever wonder why **you** keep catching breaks?"

"It might have something to do with that deal I made with Satan as a child." Mike riotously laughed as he dropped onto the couch. "I don't stop to ask why, Schultzy, I just say thank you and move right along."

"Be honest, aren't you slightly worried that you won't get away with it?"

"Of course," the criminal mastermind replied without hesitation, "that's what makes it so fun."

**The Blakes  
****3:27 pm **

"Puerto Vallarta is going to be so much fun!" Sean informed his family as he dashed into the kitchen. Originally they were supposed to be hosting a BBQ with the Stokes clan, but when he was told they had to unexpectedly cancel, he decided to use the time to research their vacation destination on the computer. "The pictures of the resort are incredible. I printed one. Look! They offer mountain bike tours."

"Cool!" Ryan snatched the photo from his brother's hand. "We get to mountain bike through the jungle."

"I don't want to do that," McKenna pleaded to her mother. "Please don't make me. Jungles are icky!"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Sweetie," Wendy assured her daughter who she had been snuggling nonstop since learning about Carrie's near-kidnapping. Thankfully the kids could be spared from knowing their aunt had almost been snatched.

Ryan needled his brother, "I'm sure Sean will chicken out too, Kenna, so don't feel bad."

"I will not!" Sean reclaimed his photo. "I can't wait to try it. I'm also hoping to catch several butterflies on the resort's property. Dr. Grissom gave me a deluxe collection kit as a gift, remember?"

**LVPD – Crime Lab  
****3:35 pm **

"I'm Gil Grissom, Mrs. Montoya, I'm heading up the investigation of your sister Teresa's murder." Grissom took a seat next to the sniffling woman. "Do you have any idea how your sister could have ended up in the desert outside of Pahrump?"

"She told me…" The devastated woman struggled to get the words out. "She called and said she was going to the Nugget. She likes to play the progressive slots there, and after hearing the story about the woman who hit for over three hundred grand, she was obsessed with doing the same. She wanted to help me with my daughter's medical expenses." Crying into her tissues, Maria Montoya, said, "I just realized she did end up doing the same as that woman…dying."

"I know this is very difficult for you, but I'd like to show you a photo of the man she was found with, and if you could tell me if you've ever seen him before, that would be of great help."

"Okay."

Grissom slowly turned the photo. "Does he look familiar?"

Staring at the man who killed her sister, Maria shook her head. "No, but if he killed my sister, then I'm thrilled he's dead."

"Did your sister routinely hook up with strangers? Or would you consider that to be a very abnormal behavior for her?"

"After what her husband did to her, she hated men, had no use for them. No, when she went to gamble, my sister had a one track mind."

**The Vartanns  
****3:41 pm **

"Mmm, that's great, Baby." Lying on his stomach, Tony closed his eyes and enjoyed the rhythmic kneading of his muscles.

"I wonder why you're so tense," Becca joked.

"Gee, I don't know."

They laughed together.

"I love you," Becca breathed into her husband's ear.

"Come here." An idea for distraction popping into his head, he pulled her next to him. "Let's pretend…"

"You're a famous rock star and I'm your groupie!"

"No." He pressed a finger to her smiling mouth. "Let's pretend we were on a private jet that crashed…"

"What?!" Becca burst out laughing. "Morbid sex fantasies are so not my thing."

"Would you let me finish," he groaned in frustration.

"Shutting!" She clamped her hands over her mouth.

"I'm a cop and was on my way to extradite someone, you're a socialite flying somewhere to buy something expensive and useless."

_Ha! _

"We were the only two passengers and you got on my nerves in the first minutes of the flight and when I told you to stop whining, you called me an arrogant Neanderthal. After that, we ignored each other."

_Except you couldn't take your eyes off my long legs, and when I got up to use the restroom, I saw you check out my ass. _

"Hours into the flight, we hit some weather and the plane crashed into the ocean. You were knocked unconscious, but I managed to save you before the plane sank."

_That's my hero! _

"So it's not morbid, we'll pretend the pilots survived and were plucked from the ocean when they were spotted by a container ship. Okay?" When Becca nodded, he continued, "I safely get us to a deserted island, but we still get on each other's nerves because you're having a hard time dealing with the rugged conditions, and I laugh my ass off at you a lot."

_This could be a movie. Who would play me? _

"As the months go by, we fall for each other, but we haven't admitted it until **today**. Today is the day we give into the passion that's been building for months."

_Sandra Bullock! She'd be perfect! _

"We're totally consumed with passion, so there's nothing else to think about except each other and the love between us. We have nothing else to deal with or worry about, because we're on this island forever. Think you can rock that fantasy, Becks?"

"Oh hell yes!" She jumped from the bed. "I'll need some props through."

"Get whatever props you need, Baby." Rolling onto his back, Tony pointed to the Levitra-fueled bulge in his pants. "I've already got mine."

**Nick and Carrie's  
****3:49 pm **

"My dad got your favorite brownies, Carr!" Nick walked into the bathroom feigning an upbeat mood. "Sweetheart, you've been in there for almost an hour. You need to come out." He dangled a fluffy towel from his finger. "My mom threw one of your spa towels in the dryer. It's right here, nice and hot. Come on out…please." When he heard the water shut off, he breathed deep. "There you go." As soon as she stepped out, Nick secured the towel around her. "Does that feel good?" Her cheeks were flushed from being under the hot water for fifty minutes. "Hmm?"

She nodded.

"Good." He hugged her tight. "Your boss called for you, he wanted me to tell you that you can take all the time you need, okay? Needless to say he's freaked out by not suspectin' anything about Ogden's motives, and very sorry that this happened. He's got some big time damage control to do with the staff and Ogden's cases. He said not to worry about your work though, he's bringin' in some temp help and your co-workers are steppin' up to cover for you. Okay?"

She nodded again.

Nick grabbed his fiancée's pink terry cloth robe from the hook. "Why don't you put this on, and we'll go to the kitchen and eat brownies?" When she dropped her towel, he helped her into the robe. "I bet my mom would love to make you some hot cocoa too."

"Okay," she vacantly replied.

"Hey." Cupping her face, Nick sternly, but lovingly said, "After your swim coach got busted, he still ruined your life for years. I'm not gonna let that happen here. You can't let it happen. We're in shock, we're understandably freaked out, we can take a day to pull ourselves together, but then we have to get back in the game." He pressed his lips to hers, before whispering, "I love you, Sweetheart. You weren't physically hurt. We have a wonderful future planned…a beautiful wedding in February, followed by a spectacular honeymoon…and we have a baby who will need us in June. Everything's the same, Carr, it's all there…nothin's changed unless you let it change. Okay?"

Tears slipping down her cheeks, she nodded, "You're right."

"For a change, huh?" He beamed a smile at her and when she returned it, his heart melted. "Come on, let's get you some Mama Stokes TLC and a brownie. You'll be feeling better in no time."

**Desert Palms Hospital  
****3:57 pm **

"How are you feeling today, Tawny?" Dr. Simon asked as she flipped through her patient's chart.

"Great!" Holding Greg's hand as she lay in bed on her side, Tawny said, "I'm being the perfect patient. Tell her, Chuckles."

"She is," the anxious father-to-be confirmed. "Thank God I'm not the one pregnant, because I couldn't stay still for this long unless I was rendered unconscious. I'm really proud of my wife, Doc, she's totally committed to doing anything it takes to keep our girls healthy."

"I'm proud of her too." The doctor signed a discharge order. "You've had the terbutaline pump in your leg for four days with no contractions. I'll allow you to go home and we'll monitor you from there. A monitor will be set up in your home, you'll be shown how to use it and you'll transmit a strip to the home health service eight times a day. They'll alert me if they see a problem. If everything goes well, you'll be able to stay home for the duration of your pregnancy."

"Really?!" Tawny shrilled.

"But you said two weeks, Doc." Although he was thrilled, Greg wanted to make sure it was the best thing for the babies, "It's only been six days, is that really enough time?"

"I always say two weeks, in case it doesn't go well."

"Yessss!" Fearing she'd have a contraction from the excitement, Tawny forced herself to breathe and relax.

"All the same rules apply at home as here though," the doctor warned. "You're in bed except for bathroom trips, and a shower every other day." She turned to the husband. "She'll be in bed with you, Mr. Sanders, but sexual intercourse is still forbidden." Patting the expectant father on the back, she said her customary joke, "As long as she's not exerting herself and remains on her side, she can help you out, but since she's not allowed to enjoy herself, don't be surprised if she declines. In talking to husbands in similar situations, they've found that gourmet chocolate and Ben & Jerry's work best when bartering."

"Thanks, Doc. I don't think it will be a problem." Greg winked at his wife, "We're very loving and creative people."

**The Vartanns  
****4:07 pm **

"I love you, Brock," Becca moaned as she dramatically peeled her playmate out of the ripped and frayed business shirt she had him wearing to prop the castaway fantasy.

"When did you fall in love with me, Tasha?" Stroking her thighs as she nestled on her hips, Tony congratulated himself for finally coming up with a successful way to relieve Becca's mind while getting a little pleasure for himself.

"The night you made fire." She trailed steamy kisses down his goody trail. "I was shivering, you made me warm, and to thank you for that…I'm going to make you hotter than you've ever been."

"Mmmmm." Tony wiped his sweaty brow. "You already have." To set the right mood, Becca had turned the heat up to a tropical ninety-nine degrees.

"Oh, Brock." She pulled back in awe of his manhood. "A knack for Fire Starting isn't your only gift."

Tony burst out laughing at the line and his wife's delivery. "Those drama lessons you got from Greg's mom are paying off, Baby."

"Hey!"

"Sorry!" he apologized for breaking the fantasy. "Crazy talk is a side effect left over from my malaria; I don't know a Greg or anything about drama lessons."

Becca ripped open her shredded designer blouse. "I hope you're strong enough to handle this."

**LVPD – Grissom's Office  
****4:33 pm **

"Flash is missing!"

Gil jumped out of his desk chair gripping his cell phone. "What do you mean he's missing? Why are you out of breath, Sara?"

"Because I've been running all over the place looking for Flash. I can't believe he's gone. He's gone!"

"No, I'm sure he's just asleep in the house somewhere, Honey. Under a bed, in a corner." He tossed his glasses on the desk. "You know how soundly he sleeps."

"I screamed his name loud enough to wake the dead!"

"Try to stay calm. This thing with Ogden has you in a paranoid state of mind and…"

"Listen to me! The side gate was open when I came home."

"What? How can that be? It's padlocked."

"Rodgers that's how! The only keys are on our key rings, and the lock isn't cut. What does that tell you?"

"I'm on my way, Honey." Gil rushed out of the office. "Flash probably picked up a scent and followed it without thinking. He's probably sitting in the park."

"I've already been to the park…twice."

**Desert Breeze Park  
****4:41 pm **

"Is the fresh air clearin' your head?" Nick asked while strolling hand in hand with Carrie.

"Definitely. Ooh!" She pointed to a bench. "Let's sit and watch the family on the playground. That'll be us in a year."

"Sounds good."

When they reached the bench, Nick brushed it clean and then motioned for his fiancée to take a seat.

"You're such a gentleman, Stokes." She pecked his cheek before sitting. "Lucky for me."

"Hey, in all the drama of the day I didn't get to tell you the shocking family news. My dad's retiring and givin' up politics to boot."

"Wow, that is shocking, I thought for sure he'd be on the bench until the day he died."

"We all did." Nick draped his arm around Carrie's shoulders. "I think he did it because he didn't want to come off as a hypocrite with his conservative peers by doin' a 180 on the gay marriage issue, and he didn't want to hurt Katie by continuin' to lead the charge against it."

That trip to Brokeback Mountain changed his life, huh?" she chuckled for the first time since the trauma.

"Somethin' like that I suppose." Thrilled to see a smile on his fiancée's face, he pulled her on his lap. "The other shocker is…Jean's pregnant. They worked out a deal with Quentin and it worked on the first try."

"Even lesbians are having babies before we have one together," she sighed before another chuckle. "Good for them."

"How's that Valium workin' out, Sweetheart?" he asked while smoothing his palm over her back.

"Reeeeally, reeeeally good."

"Yeah, I had my suspicions." Tapping her nose with his, Nick whispered, "It's good to have your smile back."

"Look." Carrie pointed past the playground. "There's a Basset Hound tied to a tree over there. He kind of looks like Flash."

"They all look alike, Sweetheart…short and pudgy." He stole another kiss. "The kids are leavin'."

"It's dinner time."

"Come on." He grabbed her hand and stood. "The swings are free. Twenty pumps, whoever is highest wins. Loser buys Starbucks."

"But I'm drugged," she giggled while being tugged onto the playground. "That's unfair."

"I'll give you a push and a five pump start."

"Deal!" Carrie jumped on a swing. "You're going down!"

**The Vartanns  
****4:58 pm **

Lacing his fingers through Becca's wild island hair, Tony cheered her on, "Tasha…Baby…you're terrible at coconut cracking, but you sure as hell know your way around a banana."

"Ha!" Becca pulled back laughing. "I almost bit you!"

"I didn't mean to interrupt you." Halting his laughter, he said, "As you were."

"Not that I mind, but…I've been at it for like twenty minutes now, and that's about fifteen minutes longer than you've ever lasted in this position."

"Our watch batteries stopped two months ago, how can you possibly know the time?"

"From the position of the sun!" she choked out before laughing. "Did you take something?"

"Nah, it's the ocean air." He winked. "It's very invigorating."

"You did!" She smacked him.

"I had some pills in a waterproof container." He rolled their bodies and merged them without warning.

Gripping her husband's shoulders, Becca growled, "You're a bad, bad, boy."

**Mike and Lissa's  
****5:42 pm **

Gil pounded on the front door. "Open up, Rodgers!"

"What's up, neighbor?" Mike answered with a beer in his hand. "The wife and I just sat down for cocktail hour. Care to join us?"

"What did you do with Flash?" Gil asked thought gritted teeth. "The gate is open and he's gone. Don't bother denying it."

The master manipulator rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ, what don't you people blame me for?" Shouting into the house, he asked, "Lissa! Have you seen the Grissoms' dog today?"

Wearing only a red lace teddy and stilettos, Lissa joined her husband in the doorway. "That ugly pudgy waddler?" She snuggled up to her husband. "Sorry, haven't seen him."

Sara's cries echoing in his head, Gil's ire grew. "If you've hurt or killed that dog, Rodgers, I'll…" He caught himself.

"You'll what, Gil?" Mike prodded, "Kill me? Your buddy Nick already threatened to do that earlier today. You people really should take up Yoga or something. You're a violent bunch. Look at you…you have veins bulging." He playfully smacked Lissa's ass. "Wait for me in the bedroom, Baby."

"You bet I will." She waved to the angry neighbor before strutting away. "I hope you find your mutt."

"What do you want, Rodgers?" Gil snipped.

"At the moment, I really want to bang my hot wife, so if you're through accusing me of something I didn't do, I'm going to say buh-bye and hit the sheets." Before he could shut the door, Gil grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Like I said…violent."

"What did you do with our dog?!"

"I guess you didn't hear me when I said…I didn't touch your damn dog! Now let go of me, and get off my property or I'll kick your ass off of it!"

Gil forcefully released his nemesis. "If I can tie you to his disappearance…"

"You're like the friggin' Energizer Bunny of denial, aren't you? I…didn't…touch…your…dog." Straightening his shirt, Mike broke into a smile. "I'm really glad I had the foresight to install a security camera on my front door." He winked. "After I bang my wife, I'll crack open a beer and get some more kicks watching the video of you going postal. Now get off my property, asshole!" He slammed the door. "And stay off!"

Furious for losing control, Gil rushed across the street cursing himself the whole way. Just as he was about to open the front door, he heard a car horn.

"Gil!" Carrie yelled from the passenger seat of Nick's Armada.

Surprised by the visit, Gil walked to meet the unexpected guests. "I thought you would be…"

"Did you take Flash to the park and forget him?" Carrie hopped out while Nick retrieved the dog from the back. "Nicky and I found him tied to a tree in the park by our house. We walked him home and put him in the truck."

Looking across the street, the relieved pet owner saw Mike laughing his ass off on the front porch. His blood boiled. "Thank you for finding him."

* * *

**ANs: **

You win some, you lose some…maybe Mike's luck will change back in the next chappie :D Cat and Mouse will be the game going forward. There were **lots** of hints and foreshadowing in this one!

Did you REALLY think I'd hurt Flash?!

Mama Stokes is a good person to have around when you're throwing in the towel, isn't she? A loving smile, a tender pat on the cheek and then 'over my dead body you'll give up and run!'

And speaking of dead bodies…there are more to come.

On a lighter note…if you enjoyed Brock and Tasha…they'll be back. Now that Tony has FINALLY figured out a way to get Becca's mind to stop obsessing, he's going to do something crazy to keep the plan alive. But will Dr. M approve of induced Multiple Personality Disorder as a cure for Mania?

I know it's taking me a little longer to write LoM than Where, but the reason has nothing to do with loving one story more than the other, with LoM I have to be very careful that it all pieces together to the action ahead and that requires more time and focus. Just in case anyone was concerned.

Thanks for your comments on the last chapter! I've not had a chance to reply to any comments yet, because I got pulled into teaching on my 'vacation' LOL. To keep both stories churning, I need the motivation though and appreciate it greatly!!

Thanks to KJT for taking on double the work too! Of course now that she's coming for a visit in June, she has to be nice to me!!! LOL

**Next Chapter:** As soon as these fingers can jam it out on the keyboard!

**Thanks for reading!  
****Maggs **


	11. Chapter 11

**Laws of Motion – Book 4  
****Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 11**

**Tuesday, December 14, 2005**

**McCarran Airport **

**7:04 am **

"We'll be boarding any minute, McKenna!" Wendy's excitement was uncontainable. "I can't wait to relax by the pool. You're going to look mighty cute in your new swimsuit."

The little girl however, could not mask her disappointment, "I wish Aunt Carrie and Uncle Nick were still coming. They were going to take me horseback riding while Dad took the boys mountain biking and you stayed with Ashley."

"I'm sorry, Sweetie." Wendy patted her knee. "They were all ready to join us, but then Aunt Carrie woke up this morning and decided to return to work instead of taking a vacation." It had been Nick's idea to get away for a few days and relax after the Ogden drama, but at the last minute Carrie decided the best thing for her would be to return to the office. "You'll still get to go horseback riding."

**Mike and Lissa's **

**7:12 am **

After riding her husband like a stallion, Lissa collapsed onto the sheets fanning herself. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

"Better." Mike dove for a post-coital kiss. "You're a keeper."

"Considerin' how your two previous wives met untimely demises, I'm thrilled to hear you want me to stick around."

"Third time's a charm." He nipped at her earlobe. "If I was going to kill you, I'd wait until the sex was bad."

"Then I better keep puttin' out," she chuckled as he tickled her with kisses.

"Exactly." Winking at his gorgeous wife, Mike spoke in a loving whisper, "I think we really have something good here, and we're good for each other."

"Are you sayin' you love me?"

Caressing her cheek, he smiled, "No, but I might be falling in love with you."

"I might be fallin' in love with you too."

"Mmm." He kissed his way down her chest. "Schultzy predicted you'd get amorous after learning I updated my will to leave you everything."

"It was grand gesture." She sobered, "And one Drew never made."

**Drew's House**

**7:30 am **

"Kisses for Daddy!" Drew crouched down so his daughter could reach.

"Can't you stay home today too?" Cassie pouted, hoping she could convince him. "It's winter vacation."

"Sorry, Sugar, just because school is out doesn't mean grownups have time off." He hugged her tight. "With the BPAC facility opening in January, I have a ton of work to do. Besides, it's Aunt Katie and Jean are still here and I'm sure they're gonna spoil you guys rotten again today. You don't need me here."

"Daddy…"

"Yeah?" He stood and grabbed his briefcase.

"Are you really going to work today, or is today the day you hafta go to the court to argue with Mommy about where I'm gonna live?"

"No, Sweetie, that's tomorrow." He patted her on the head and smiled. "But don't you worry, you're never gonna have to live with mommy and the mean man. I promise."

**Crime – Grissom's Office **

**8:38 am **

"Gris…I have the DNA results as promised." Greg didn't waste any time delivering the bad news. "Sorry, but it looks like we'll never know what happened. The only DNA we got off your gate lock, Flash's dog leash, and his collar belonged to you and Sara."

Removing his reading glasses, Grissom replied, "That's what I expected."

"You're sure that none of your neighbors saw anything?"

"Most of them weren't home and the two who were said they didn't see anything."

Stepping into the office, Greg quietly said, "I'm sure Rodgers has their schedules and patterns memorized."

"Absolutely."

"I'm really sick of him getting the upper hand." Taking a seat in a guest chair, the CSI anxiously asked, "Do you have any hunch about what he's up to?"

"He's clearly gathering information against us, but whether it's toward a specific plan, or just a safety net in case we go after him…we don't know." Deciding he had wasted enough of his morning dwelling on Rodgers, Gil abruptly changed the subject. "How does it feel to have Tawny back home?"

A boyish grin filled Greg's face. "Awesome."

The ring of Grissom's cell phone interrupted the two men.

"Excuse me for a minute."

As Grissom answered his phone, Greg relaxed in the guest chair and let his thoughts drift back to his glorious night

"_Oh, Chuckles…" Tawny beckoned from bed as her man was brushing his teeth. _

"_Yeah?" Greg froze when he saw his wife patting the empty space between her and the Tawny Doll. "You know how you've spent years fantasizing about a threesome? Well, your fantasy is about to come true." _

"_Ha!" _

"_Put on some mood music, and lose that towel, Baby, because we want to put a big, fat smile on your face tonight." _

"_Your command is my wish!" Greg hurried to the stereo and flipped on Vegas's twenty-four hour booty call music station. "Hellllllooooo, ladies." He stood at the foot of the bed with his fingers wrapped around his towel. "So, you want the Full Monty, huh?" He started gyrating._

"_Oh yeah! Finesse it, Baby." Tawny clapped for his bump and grind. "You've watched me, now show me what you've learned." _

"_Wait, the doctor said you're not allowed to be turned on." _

"_I'll be okay," she giggled, finding the display hilarious, and not the least bit erotic. "Mmm…you've kept us waiting long enough. Take it off!" As the towel flew through the air she summoned him with her eyes. "Tell us what you want, Baby. Hmm?" _

_Greg glanced over at the lifeless doll on his right. "It's been fun, really it has, but…" He shoved his fake mate off the bed. "But I want to be alone with my wife." _

"_Aww!" Tawny's eyes welled with hormonal tears. "That was __**so**__ sweet." _

"_I've missed you." Clasping his wife's hand, he brought it to his lips. "All I want to do is snuggle with you." _

"_I really don't mind helping you out," she sweetly replied as they lay on their sides gazing into each other's eyes. _

"_If you can go without and stay in bed for months to keep our girls safe, it's the least I can do." He snuggled close, savoring the delicate aroma of her perfume. "Mmm, I missed having you to come home to after a long shift." _

"_Aww." Tawny ran her fingers through her husband's damp hair. _

"_That feels nice." _

"_I love you," she murmured into his ear. _

"_I love you too, Princess." His lips grazed over hers. "So much and forever." _

"_Mmm, I missed hearing you say that." She snatched his bottom lip with her mouth, and seconds later, they were locked in a passionate kiss. _

"_Tawny…" _

"_Shh." She stole another kiss. "Mmm, I've missed kissing you. From our first smooch on my couch, I've loved kissing you." _

_After gently pulling away, Greg placed his hand on his wife's mouth. "You're not allowed to…" _

"_I'm fine, really. I can kiss you without the rest of my body getting into it." _

_Crashing onto his back, Greg laughed, "Good for you, but I can't. I want to be noble and empathic, but I can't with you kissing me like your life depends on it." _

_Swirling her fingertips over her man's obviously heated body, she purred, "Aww, it's not your fault that I'm irresistible. Don't be so__** hard**__ on yourself, Sweetie. After years of being rewarded for making men happy, it's a hard habit to break." She moaned while nipping and kissing the tip of her husband's finger. "Maybe it's a compulsion that I just can't go without." _

"_Damn." Greg broke into a lusty sweat watching his very pregnant wife drive him to the brink of ecstasy while barely moving a muscle. "Oh, you're good." _

"_And you're just about good to go, aren't you?"_

"_Yes." He watched her slip under the sheet. "Oh…" _

"Greg!" Grissom clapped his hands in front of the daydreamer.

"Yes! Sorry! Uh…what did you ask me?"

"I asked you to leave my office."

When Greg jumped to his feet he saw Grissom roll his eyes. "What…oh." Realizing he wasn't fit for public viewing, he grabbed a book from the shelf. "I'll bring this back later, okay?"

"You do realize you're holding the Bible, right?"

"Doh!"

Grissom handed over an empty file folder. "I want both of you out of my office."

**County Courthouse **

**9:34 am **

"Morning, everyone!" ADA Blake flashed a sunny smile and waved to her loitering coworkers as she breezed down the hall towards her office. "I'll be working on my close for the Litwell case, but feel free to interrupt if you need me."

Tina Marchello followed her fellow ADA into her office. "What are you doing here? We were told you wouldn't be back until January, after the holidays."

"But I'm here!" Carrie zipped around her desk and began unloading her briefcase. "Really, I'm fine. He never touched me. I never even saw him."

"If I were you, I'd still be at home in fetal position with a loaded gun pointed at the door." Tina stuffed her hands on her tight black skirt. "You were **minutes** away from being kidnapped and assaulted."

"I wasn't though, but plenty of children in this city have been, and they need me here making sure their abusers are locked up behind bars."

"You know, I've been pretty catty around here when it comes to you."

"Really?" Carrie feigned surprise and took a seat.

"Give it up, I know you know." Tina sat on the edge of the desk. "It's no secret that I think you're a prissy snob who thinks she's hot shit because she hasn't lost a case in five years." Sighing, she added, "And tying with me for Sexiest at the LVPD Formal was a joke, you have nubbins for tits and you laugh like a little girl. But I have to say, seeing you walk in here ready to work so soon after almost getting nabbed…I admire your tenacity and dedication. You're okay, Blake. I might even have start liking you."

"Thank you, Tina." Carrie sat up tall and stuck out her nubbin chest. "We can continue bonding later, but for now, I need to get to work."

**The Vartanns **

**10:01 am **

When Tony called to say he'd be stuck working in Boulder City for most of the day, Becca saw a chance to psychically read Mike.

Sitting in the kitchen wearing her sexiest Versace dress, she had been listening to the police scanner for thirty five minutes when she finally caught a break. "Yes!" As the dispatcher directed Officer Rodgers, she typed the address into mapquest and retrieved directions. "Cool, it's close to the mall, so after I do my psychic read, I'll do a little shopping."

Seconds later she had the Ferrari's keys in her hand and was skipping out of the house.

**Mike and Lissa's **

**10:16 am **

While hurrying out of her home, Mrs. Michael Rodgers was surprised to see her former employee strolling up the path to her door. "Well, look who it is, Marta Lard Ass Mueller. What brings you here? Have you decided to go after my second husband too? Fat chance you'll get him to bed you, he doesn't like blondes or cows and you're both."

After a steadying breath, Marta forged on with her plan, "Look, call me all the names you'd like and hate me all you want, I don't care, but please…I'm here about the kids. They've been through so much already this year, if you love them at all, you'll call off this emergency custody hearing."

"And let my babies be raised by a man stealin' whore in a home where people are boozin' it up and havin' group sex every Saturday night?" Lissa flicked her hair and cackled, "Dream on, Porky."

"You know I didn't steal Drew, you pushed him away."

"Aww, look at you. You're wellin' up." Lissa snarled, "Crocodile tears! Lookin' back it's easy to see that you were plottin' and schemin' to get Drew since the day I hired you!"

"I just can't stand to see the kids suffer." Marta fought to hold back her emotions. "Cassie is having terrible nightmares."

"Do you really love my children?"

"Yes."

"And your purpose for comin' here is to get me to back down on the custody change?"

"Yes," Marta sniffled.

"Fine." The spurned wife folded her arms and looked down at the groveling nanny. "I'll back off completely. Drew can retain full custody and the children can remain in their current home. I won't even ask for visitation."

"Really?" It sounded too good to be true.

"Really." Lissa took Marta's left hand. "On one condition. You give this ring back to Drew and leave him and my children alone…for good!"

"What?"

"If you really love those kids, you'll do it, because if you don't…I'll get full custody." A devious smile popping up on her lips, she said, "Mike can't wait to play daddy to Cassie. He loves little girls."

"You're sick! They're your flesh and blood, how can you be so disgusting?!" Marta ripped her hand out of the vile woman's grip. "You're sicker than I thought you were!"

"Is that a yes?" As the nanny raced down the front walk, Lissa yelled, "Do you know who our star witness is? Your daddy! Even he knows you're a man-stealing whore!" Whistling a happy tune, she headed for her car. "Shit! I forgot I told Mike to take my Jag to the shop this morning to have its brakes checked. Dammit!" She checked her key ring and saw he had hooked the key to his SUV on her ring. "Would you stop! Like you think leanin' against your car cryin' is gonna melt my icy heart or somethin'?" Laughing at the nanny, she unarmed Mike's SUV and slipped behind the wheel. "What a loser."

Torn between helping the children and keeping the man she loved, Marta dropped to the curb and sobbed into her hands. "I don't know what to do," she cried as she lifted her head, to see if Lissa was still laughing at her. But instead, she saw the car in the driveway explode before her eyes. "Lissa!" She raced for her cell phone, which was on the front seat of the car. "Oh my God, oh my God!" She watched the car blazing and ducked when a secondary explosion sent debris flying.

"911, what's your emergency?"

**The Grissoms**

**10:24 am **

Upon hearing what sounded like an explosion, Sara rushed from her bedroom where she had been getting dressed for her OB appointment. "Flash!" Still reeling from the dog's disappearance, she thought of his safety before her own. "Flash!" The smell of smoke intensified her panic. "Come!"

The fear in his owner's voice sent the Basset Hound running to find her.

"Come here, boy!" She grabbed the leash from the entry table and hooked it on her dog. "Let's go."

The Basset Hound choked when his owner stopped dead in her tracks as he kept trotting.

"Oh my God." The sight of a vehicle blazing in the enemy's driveway stirred an eclectic combination of excitement and fear. "What happened?"

**BPAC **

**10:31 am **

"Marta?! What's going on?" Drew anxiously yelled into the phone. "Honey, you're not making any sense, and what's with all the noise? Where are you? Are the kids with you?" His heart raced. "Were you in an accident?"

"No, I took Cassie to school and left Matt and Claire with Katie and Jean."

Listening to his fiancée sob, he pleaded, "Honey, take a deep breath and then I want you to tell me what's wrong?" When he heard a sharp inhale, he braced himself.

"I went to see Lissa…to beg her to cancel the emergency custody hearing, and…I can't believe what happened, I can't believe…she's dead. She's dead! Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

"What?!" He gripped the phone tight enough to turn his knuckles white. "Are you tellin' me…Marta, oh my God…you killed Lissa?"

"No! No, I didn't kill her! I said I was sorry because the children lost their mother, not because I killed her."

Drew clutched his chest and turned his eyes to the heavens. "Thank God." He blew out the air he had gulped in relief. "I…I'm still devastated for the kids and because I once loved her, but at least I'm not going to lose you too. How did she die, honey?" He readied the wastebasket in case his nausea kept growing.

"She was screaming at me…it exploded." She continued crying her explanation, "She had to die instantly. The doors blew off the SUV."

"SUV?" Drew shook his head. "Lissa drives a Jag. She hates SUVs. Honey, are you sure she was in the SUV? Maybe…maybe you got confused, or…"

"Right before she got into the SUV I heard her yelling that she had forgotten that she had asked Mike to take her Jag to the shop to have its brakes checked."

The statement sent a shiver up Drew's spine. "Rodgers did it." He leapt from his chair. "That son of bitch!"

**Ace Hardware Store**

**10:36 am **

"Officer Rodgers!" Becca smiled and waved as she approached. "Over here! Over here!"

"Mrs. Vartann." Mike strolled over wondering what the lunatic was up to. "What brings you to a hardware store? Are you perhaps looking for something to tighten your loose screws?"

"Ha! Good one." Reaching out she clasped the evil man's hand, hoping to get a psychic read. "While I have you here, perhaps now would be a good time to discuss your participation in the BPAC fashion show."

"Why are you holding my hand?"

"Hmm?" _Why can't I see anything?!_

"My hand." He yanked it out from her grasp.

"Sorry, I'm just a touchy feely person." Dropping a hand on the cop's shoulder, she continued, "About the fashion show." _Why can't I feel anything?!_

"I don't want to be in your damn fashion show, lady." Mike stepped back and eyed her suspiciously. "You're up to something."

"Yes, I'm playing peacemaker. I had this crazy idea that the charity fashion show might be the thing that mends the broken bridges between you and everyone else I know."

"And why is it important to you that everyone likes me?"

"It's not for me, it's for Drew's kids. They don't need the drama."

"And why do you care about Drew's kids?"

"Technically, I don't, but Drew set me up with my husband, and I'm trying to do something nice for him in return."

"Ah." The ring of one of his cell's prevented him from telling the nutjob to get lost. "Hang on a second." He flipped open the phone he used only to communicate with his accomplice, "What's up?"

"We have a situation," Don answered with obvious urgency.

Believing it was news about their dead henchman, Mike turned his back to Becca and readied for the blow. "Give it to me. Straight up."

"Your SUV just exploded in your driveway."

"What?!"

"And your wife was behind the wheel," Don uttered, still in shock himself. "Lissa's dead and I'm feeling a little out of the loop."

"You think…" Mike put some distance between himself and Mrs. Vartann. "I had nothing to do with it," he barked into the phone. "I can't believe..." He covered his mouth to trap the rage.

"I figured you were keeping me in the dark to protect me."

"No! You know what I think…I think** I** was the god damn target. No one knew I was going to take Lissa's car into the shop today except me and Lissa! She's never driven my vehicle! Think about that!"His blood boiling, he snarled, "It's Stokes. That son of bitch!"

"Which one?"

"Dammit!"

"Third wife, third death, this isn't good, Mike."

"Tell me something not completely obvious, Schultz." Gulping air, Mike glanced over his shoulder hoping Becca was gone.

"I'm still here!" The hopeful psychic smiled and waved.

Beads of sweat forming on his brow, Mike's analytical mind went into overdrive.

"What are you going to do?"

"If I friggin' knew what I was going to do, I'd already be doing it, wouldn't I?" Running his hand over his mouth, he spoke as he thought, "I need time, I need to think." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Becca pacing the sidewalk. "I'll call you back." He snapped the phone shut and composed himself before returning to Becca's side. "I'd love to talk about the fashion show, Mrs. Vartann. Let's take a drive." He extended his open palm. "I've always wanted to drive a Ferrari. May I?"

"Yes, you may." She dropped the keys into his palm, hoping they'd have a heavy dose of his psychic energy upon return. "Let's go."

* * *

**ANs:**

Mike's bad day has turned into a bad week.

Whodunit? Lissa would sadly be one of the dead bodies I warned you about.

If you believe in Becca's psychic ability, then you know she'll be just fine.

Thank you for your comments on the last chapter! I've replied to everyone :D

Off to write more…

**Maggs **


	12. Chapter 12

**Laws of Motion – Book 4  
****Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 12**

**Tuesday, December 14, 2005**

**LVPD Crime Lab**

**10:42 am **

"Nicky!" Grissom raced into the Layout Room. "Sara just called. She was home getting ready for her OB appointment when she heard an explosion."

"An explosion?" Nick dropped what he was doing.

"Mike Rodgers's SUV exploded in his driveway."

"What?!"

"But he wasn't in it."

Disappointment swamped Nick. "Oh."

"Lissa was though, and I'm sorry to say…she's dead."

"Oh my God." Rocked by the news, Nick stumbled back and dropped into a chair. "Cassie, oh God, that poor girl, she's been through hell and now…I know they weren't getting along, but…" Holding his head, he stammered, "She was still her mother, and…I can't believe…how…" Returning his gaze to Grissom, he said, "Rodgers killed her."

"Maybe not."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he's a smart man, Nicky, and three dead wives is a little much to chalk up to coincidence even when the first two were ruled accidental. It's way too soon, and it's not his MO."

"But who…"

"Your brother was in the middle of a heated custody battle, you know they'll be going after him."

"My brother would never kill his children's mother." Nick adamantly shook his head. "No way, Griss, no way in hell."

"There are other possibilities. Grissom whispered, "Maybe Mike was the target, and if he was, you know the drill…they'll make a list of his enemies. Guess who will be on top of the list?"

"You and me."

"And here's one more possibility." Taking a seat next to the overwhelmed man, he whispered, "You threatened his life and there were witnesses. I threatened him and he got it on video. What if he was the target **and **the killer?"

"You mean…"

"He could have killed two birds with one stone…murdering his wife and setting us up for a murder charge. What better revenge than for us to do time for a crime we didn't commit?" His heart racing, Grissom soberly asked, "Do you have an airtight alibi for the last twenty-four hours?"

"No." The realization spiraled Nick into a panic.

Sharply exhaling, Grissom admitted, "Me either."

"Dammit!" Nick kicked the chair next to him. "Carrie and I shoulda went to Mexico!"

**The Cliffs Resort and Spa – Puerto Varllarta, Mexico **

**11:01 am **

"This place is amazing!" Sean declared when he stepped onto the patio of the luxurious bungalow they would be enjoying for seven glorious days and nights. Turning to his brother, he said, "I knew it would be beautiful from the pictures, but the mountains…the beach…the cliffs…the waves breaking against the rocks…I don't know what to study first."

"I do." Ryan gaped at four buxom bikini clad co-eds sunning topless on their patio. _I can't believe we're staying at a __**tops optional**__ resort!_ His body reacting to the heavenly site, he sighed, "There is a God."

"There sure is," Sean dreamily replied while staring at the most intriguing beetle he had ever seen in his life. "Only God could make such amazing creatures."

"Finally we agree on something." The horny teen's eyes widened to saucers. "They're rubbing oil on each other."

"Look at the size of those things," Sean remarked while holding his magnifying glass over the insect and studying its lengthy pinchers.

"Ds for sure."

"Ds?" The studious brother finally turned to look at what his twin was babbling about. "Oh!" He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Those girls are naked."

"No, they have thongs on the bottom." Ryan's smile spread. "Really, really tiny thongs."

"You're not supposed to be looking at naked girls."

"The sign in the lobby said tops were optional. It's only bad to look at naked girls when it's illegal. In Mexico it's apparently normal for the women to be topless, so it's not wrong to look at them. It's no different than if I was staring at them wearing sweatshirts…big, round, bouncy sweatshirts." He gulped. "I um…need to use the bathroom."

Watching his brother cover his crotch and waddle into the bungalow, Sean was grateful the place had two bathrooms. If all the girls were going to be topless, he knew Ryan would be in need of privacy at least four times a day.

"Sean!" Wendy grabbed her son by the elbow. "I can't believe your brother was right! You're standing out here staring at naked women."

"No!"

**Lissa and**** Mike's House**

**11:07 am **

"Yes, Detective Vega," Marta sniffled into a crumpled tissue, "I was arguing on the front lawn with Lissa, the neighbor is right."

"What were you arguing about?"

"I was begging her to drop her request for an emergency change in custody because Cassie, Drew and Lissa's five year old daughter, was terrified by the idea of leaving her home and moving in with her mother and Mike Rodgers. I told her Cassie was having terrible nightmares, but she didn't care." Staring at the blackened SUV that still contained Lissa's roasted body, she sobbed, "She even made a vile joke that Mike was looking forward to holding Cassie on his lap and touching her. I...I told her she was twisted and she laughed at me for crying. I watched her get into the SUV and then…"

"It's okay, Ms. Mueller." Vega nodded just in case the hysterical woman couldn't hear above her cries.

"Marta!" Drew raced through the crowd gathered at the crime tape. "Marta!"

"Drew!" Forgetting she was being questioned, the shaken woman ran into her fiancé's arms and bawled.

"It's okay, sweetheart."

Vega raced after his witness. "Ms. Mueller, I wasn't finished, and sir, you can't be here, you need to…"

"I'm Drew Stokes."

"Oh." Vega straightened up but still couldn't look the jock in the eyes. "Then you can stay, because you're on my list as a person of interest."

"I figured as much." Squeezing Marta tight, he somberly said, "I hated my ex-wife, that's no secret, but she was still the mother of my children. I recently had an opportunity to press charges against her and send her to jail, but I didn't, because it would have hurt the kids to know their mother was behind bars. Telling them their mother is gone will be the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. I'm not responsible for this," he gulped, staring at the charred SUV. "Hook me up to a lie detector, take my DNA, fingerprints, anything you want. I had nothing to do with her death."

"If your brother was here," Vega said, "he would tell you to shut up and say you'll talk to me with your lawyer."

"Right, yeah." Drew kissed the top of Marta's head. "I'm not thinkin' straight. I'm thinkin' of my daughter findin' out her mama's dead when the last time they saw each other, Cassie told her she hated her. She'll never have the chance to…" He choked up, "I know my little girl, she's gonna feel bad that those were her last words to her mother, and she'll feel that way until the day she dies."

Watching the deceased's ex-husband well up, Vega quietly said, "As a professional courtesy to Nick, I'll let the two of you attend to the children if you promise me that you'll be at the station for questioning in two hours with or without your lawyer."

"Thank you, sir." Drew nodded. "We'll be there."

"Okay, two hours." Vega nodded, "and not a minute later."

**Carrie's Office**

**11:23 am **

"Do you have a minute, ADA Blake?"

Carrie glanced up from her computer. "Yes, can I help you?" She flashed a friendly smile at the forlorn woman wearing a visitor badge and standing in her doorway. "Please come in."

"You may not want me to come in once you know who I am."

"I can't imagine why you'd think that." Rounding her desk, Carrie extended her hand. "I'm Caroline Blake."

"I'm Steve's sister, Molly Jansen, and I came here to thank you for your compassion."

"Oh." After getting over the initial shock of meeting the sister of her almost-kidnapper, Carrie reached forward and took the woman's hand, sensing she was too embarrassed to accept the offered handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Molly, I wish it could be under better circumstances."

"Thank you for allowing me to visit."

"How about we sit on the couch?" Carrie motioned to the leather sofa in the corner of her office and then led the way.

"Okay." Molly took a seat as directed. "I promise to be brief. I know you're a very busy woman. I know a lot about you."

Carrie cocked her head and chose to let the woman speak without interruption.

"Steve and I were very close and until this tragic turn of events, I believed I knew everything about my brother. He spoke of you every time we chatted over the phone, that's how I know so much about you."

"Here." Carrie grabbed the Kleenex box from the end table.

"Thank you." After blowing her nose, Molly shared, "Steve told the family that he was dating you. We never suspected it was all in his head. Last week he called and said you had accepted his proposal and he would be bringing you home to Utah to meet us. He's so sick, Ms. Blake, he wasn't like this before he lost his family, you have to believe me. If any of us had known or suspected he was capable of doing something as heinous as kidnapping you and forcing you to…" Covering her mouth, she cried, "On behalf of my family, please accept our deepest apologies."

"Yes, absolutely." Carrie reached out and squeezed the trembling woman's hand. "I wish your family the best, and I hope that Steve is able to work through his illness. When he's stable enough to hear it, please tell him I know he didn't mean to hurt me and I forgive him."

"Bless you." Molly instinctively hugged the generous woman. "We're bringing him to a hospital and his family and his Church will be there every step of the way praying and hoping he's able to recover and have a life again one day, but only our Heavenly Father knows for sure what the future holds."

**Becca's Ferrari**

**11:34 am **

"Do you believe in psychic energy, Mike?" Becca watched the scenery zip by as they drove on the interstate. "Seeing the future, visions, the whole supernatural nine yards?"

"My mother did," the master criminal replied after taking a sip of Coke. "Whenever me or my brother would do something wrong, she'd grab us by the shoulders and scream 'one day you'll be behind bars you bad, bad boy, you're an evil little monster and I curse the day you were born!'. When I was in prison, sometimes at night, I'd swear I could hear her laughing her ass off in hell and cackling 'I told you you'd be behind bars one day, you rat bastard!'"

"I think your Mommy Dearest went to the same school as mine."

"Why did your mother hate you?" he asked, taking a minute from obsessing over his plans.

"Because I was a constant reminder of my father and she loathed him. I was a stand in, since he took off and she couldn't ream him." Glancing over, she lowered her designer sunglasses and queried, "Why did your mother hate you?"

"Same fucking reason." His anger surfacing, he shared the story that always came to him when he thought of the witch. "One summer he stopped by with two new bikes…Benny and I rode them all day. We loved those bikes. The next day, she told us they were stolen from the front lawn and yelled at us for being irresponsible. She was lying to our faces. I saw her put them in the trunk of her car in the middle of the night."

"That bitch!"

"Oh she was, let me tell you."

"Do you talk to her? I try to avoid mine like the plague. I've never even introduced her to Tony."

"No, the wicked witch is dead," he replied with munchkin-like glee.

"Did a house fall on her?" Becca chuckled, thinking of the Wizard of Oz movie.

"No, a hammer did actually. It fell on her ten times to be exact." He snickered, "Fell isn't exactly the right word, but…"

"You killed your mother?" Mrs. Vartann sat up straight. "For real?"

"Who said **I **killed her?" A blissful smile appeared on his face. "I didn't kill her, but I enjoyed every minute of watching her die. She twitched, I liked that part the best."

"That's a little creepy, Mike."

"I was nine," he spoke fondly of the memory, "my kid brother was asleep and I was supposed to be too. The guy my mother was screwing got fed up with her nagging and walked into the living room, knocked her down on the throw rug on the wood floor and took a hammer to her head. I watched him roll her body up in a carpet, clean the floor and then throw the rug over his shoulder. Curiosity got the best of me, so I snuck out from behind the couch and followed him. He put her in the trunk, but just as he did, he saw me."

Becca sat listening intently, as though she was hearing a scary story around a camp fire.

"He grabbed me by my t-shirt and said 'what are you gonna, boy, now that I've killed your mama? If you answer wrong, I'll kill you too.'" Mike laughed, "I'm here, so you know he liked my answer."

"What was it?"

"I said 'I'm gonna shake your hand and tell you thank you, I've been wanting to do that for years'."

Becca cracked up. "Yeah, I had a few fantasies like that about my mother."

"That's a little creepy, Becks."

They shared a laugh.

"What happened? Did the boyfriend hurt you?"

"Nope. He shook my hand and said 'women…when you can't live with 'em, kill 'em and find another one, that's my advice to you, boy'."

"This is a fish tale, right?" Becca warily asked, "You didn't **really **see your boyfriend's mother kill your mom and then thank him?"

He smirked, "The cops asked me if I saw my mom the night she disappeared and I looked that pig right in the eye and said, 'yes, sir, I sure did, she was hammered'. When I saw him write down 'mother was drunk', it was like vicariously getting away with murder."

"So even though you knew your mother's boyfriend would kill you, you looked the cop in the eyes and told him the truth about how your mother was murdered?"

"Yep."

"Why?" Becca curiously asked, "You were nine, you could have just said you were sleeping and they would have believed you."

"Because I wanted to see if I could get away with it."

"Ah, kind of like how I loved to shoplift as a teenager, even though I had enough money to buy the stuff I was stealing."

"Exactly." Feeling a growing kinship with the nutjob, Mike said, "I never really gave you a chance before, Becks. I like you."

"Why are you telling me all this anyway?" Becca cracked open a bottle of water.

"Just passing the time."

"Where are we going?" She glanced out the window and saw they were in the middle of nowhere.

"I hear that Mexico is lovely this time of year."

She laughed, "We don't really have the time."

"Can I borrow your cell phone? Mine's dead."

"Sure." She handed it over, hoping his psychic energy would be transferred to it.

With a smile, he accepted the phone. "Thanks." He removed the back panel and removed the phone's battery with a tissue in his hand.

"I thought you were going to use the phone, not the battery."

"Nope." Opening the window a crack, he tossed the battery out.

"Hey! What the hell did you do that for?!"

"You're pregnant, Becks, remember that okay. It's extremely important that you don't do anything to jeopardize your babies' health, right? Causing a car accident for example, that would be very bad."

"You're scaring me," she squeaked, suddenly thinking her plan wasn't such a good idea after all. "Turn around, let's go back."

"I'm afraid we can't do that, not any time soon anyway."

"What?! Why not?!"

"Because your friends are trying to kill me."

"What makes you think that?!" Her heart raced.

"Breathe, Becks, nice and calm, remember the babies, and don't think about trying to manhandle the car away from me, because we're doing eighty and I'll lose control and you'll kill us all."

She struggled to follow her captor's instructions.

"When we were chatting earlier, I received a phone call telling me that my SUV had exploded when my wife tried to drive it. Lissa's dead, but I have no doubt the target was me. Therefore it's not safe for me to return to Vegas."

"But you don't have to take me with you!" Her hands rested on her belly.

"I promise I won't hurt you if you go with the flow."

"How the hell can I trust a kidnapper?!" she screamed.

"Good point," he laughed. "But I really do mean it." He tossed the unusable cell phone onto his guest's lap. "I won't make you do me or anything either, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's in my top five!" Tears filling her eyes, she grasped her phone. "I…"

"What?" When she didn't answer, he glanced over and saw her clutching her cell phone with both hands and staring straight ahead with her mouth hanging open. "Becks! Becks! What's going on?"

Dropping the phone, she gasped.

"If you're faking a seizure…"

"I'm fine." After a deep breath, Becca smiled at her kidnapper. "Mexico is lovely this time of year. Let's go."

**Boulder City **

**11:46 am **

"I'm here!" Officer Perez waved to Vartann. "You requested some more backup."

"What the hell took you so long?" Tony blasted on approach.

"It's a crazy day." Hearing the word crazy, reminded him to say, "I saw your wife a little while ago."

"Where?" Becca had told him she would be spending the day at home fixing up their 'Fantasy Island' room. Since the 'stranded after a plane crash' role play had worked brilliantly as a distraction, Tony suggested they convert one of the empty rooms into a role play room, complete with sand and boxed palm trees.

"I was working a case at Ace Hardware on Lennox."

"What's wrong?" Tony saw the cop growing uncomfortable.

"It's…I don't know, I feel like I should tell you, but considering the bullshit you had going on with Amy, I'll feel really bad saying anything if it's nothing."

"Spill it, Perez!"

"It's about your wife." The cop stepped closer and spoke discreetly. "I saw her acting real chummy with Mike Rodgers and he left his car there and then they took off with her in her Ferrari."

The words piercing Tony's peace of mind, he grabbed the cop by the shirt collar. "Who was driving?"

"He was."

"If that bastard lays a finger on her!" Tony ran like the wind to his car. "Call for a detective replacement!"

"What should I say? Why are you leaving?!"

"Family emergency!"

Watching the detective's car tearing down the road, the cop sighed, "I'm never getting married."

* * *

**ANs:**

The plot thickens! Any guesses as to why Becks is okay with going to Mexico?

I hope you enjoyed the comic relief provided by the Blake brothers.

The next chapter will focus on Lissa's death and whodunit…and who looks guilty.

Thanks for your comments on the last chapter, I've replied to all.

Thanks KJT for your plotting and editing services!

**Maggs **


	13. Chapter 13

**Laws of Motion – Book 4   
W****ritten by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 13**

**Tuesday, December 14, 2005  
****The Cliffs Resort – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico**

**11:50 am **

"When can we sign up for mountain biking?" Ryan bugged his parents for the tenth time in thirty minutes. "The pictures in the lobby looked **so** cool."

"We just got here, son." Paul dropped his hands on his hyper boy's shoulders. "I promise you'll get to do it, just not today, okay? Today all I want to do is settle in, relax by the pool, and have a nice dinner."

Wendy added, "And if you hound us again, you won't get to do it at all."

"Okay, okay," the teen droned while plopping onto the couch.

"Ready to swim, Mommy!" McKenna came running into the living room modeling her new bathing suit.

"I'll take her!" Ryan volunteered, hoping there would be more topless girls by the pool.

"No, **I'll **take her." Sean grabbed his little sister's hand. "We all know you'll get distracted looking at other girls and Kenna will drown."

Ryan thought about protesting, but knew it would be a waste of air. "Yeah, you're right."

"We'll **all** go when Ashley wakes up from her nap," Paul announced, "this is Mexico, not our back yard. It's a dangerous in some areas, and even though this is an expensive resort in a nice part of town, I don't want you guys out of my sight until I've..."

"But, Dad!" Ryan barked, "We're thirteen! We don't need babysitters."

"Not until I've had a look around and can decide how safe it is here, end of discussion."

"Thanks for offering to watch Kenna, honey." Wendy ruffled Sean's hair on the way to change into her suit. "I love how protective you are. You're starting to remind me of a young Nick."

"Way to insult Nick," Ryan snarked under his breath.

**Desert Breeze Park**

**11:55 am **

"Carr!" Nick waved at his fiancée when he saw her pull into the parking lot and hurried over to greet her. "I thought it was best not to talk in your office," he said upon opening her door.

"I can't believe what happened," she replied as Nick's arms slipped around her waist and he lifted her off her feet. "Your mother called my cell when I was driving over here. Did you know your brother asked her to take the kids to Dallas?"

"Yeah." Cupping Carrie's face he explained, "They're terrified that social services will swoop in and take the kids into protective custody because of what was already goin' on, the suspicious circumstances surrounding Lissa's death, and Lord knows what Mike and Schultz have in their arsenal to make things look even worse."

"I don't blame them."

After a quick kiss, Nick said in a panicky tone, "They'll be comin' after me as a person of interest."

"What?"

"Since it wasn't Lissa's SUV, Grissom thinks Mike is going to say he was the true target."

"Great." She quickly made the leap. "And you threatened to kill him the other day."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Lowering his head, Nick voiced his frustration with himself, "I wish I could take it back. When your father finds out, he's gonna rip me a new one. My hot headedness is the reason he didn't want you with me and now it's gonna cause us grief again."

"But you have an alibi."

"Not for this mornin' when I went joggin' I don't. That's a forty-five minute window."

"But the sun was up, you couldn't possibly rig a car…"

"No, I left when it was dark, and had about twenty minutes before the sun came up."

"That's not good, Nicky." The experienced prosecuting attorney clutched her head. "Not good at all."

"I know." Feeling terrible that she was once again under duress, he said, "We're jumpin' the gun though. There's still a chance that it wasn't foul play. Or if it was, then hopefully the device that caused the explosion will be something too complicated for me to have been able to plant in such a short window. After that, we have to hope for evidence linking the real perp."

"Who could be Rodgers," Carrie huffed, "because it seems a little to convenient for Lissa to be in his SUV when it explodes. Why was she driving it?"

"My brother told me in confidence that Marta overheard Lissa say she asked her husband to take her Jag to the shop that morning."

"That settles it as far as I'm concerned." Leaning against her Volvo, she said, "Mike had opportunity and he had witnesses to your murder threat."

"But he couldn't have known for sure that I'd be without an alibi."

"He took a chance and it paid off."

"But he had to know he'd look like a suspect too, sweetheart. It's not his MO to put himself in such a vulnerable position." Nick held her tight.

"Maybe the bigger the risk, the more he gets off? And he has plenty of other people to share the suspect spotlight."

"Yeah, after the incident with Flash, they'll be comin' after Grissom too."

**The Grissoms **

**12:07 pm **

"Sara!" Gil rushed into the house.

"Kitchen!"

He rushed down the hall with Flash waddling after him.

"I rescheduled my OB appointment," Sara told her husband as his arms locked around her. Still in shock from the morning's events, she whispered, "Is it wrong that I'm disappointed he wasn't in the car?"

"I can't tell you right or wrong, but I will confirm you're in good company thinking it." He kissed the top of her head.

Lifting her eyes to Gil's, she quietly asked, "It wasn't you, right?"

"No."

She returned to snuggling against his chest. "I didn't think so, but after Flash went missing…that night…I've never seen you so upset."

"You're my alibi, Sara," he whispered into her hair. "I was home with you until I left for work this morning at six."

"Then from six until the SUV exploded…"

"You have no alibi."

Sara's breath caught in her throat. "Like mother, like daughter?"

"No, I know you didn't do it, Honey," he assured. "I was stating a worry, not implying guilt."

"Thanks for the faith." A deep breath later, she said, "I think Mike did it."

"It's not his MO."

"We both know that killers can change their MO if circumstances or opportunities arise." Thinking of her conversation with Carrie a day earlier, she said, "Nick threatened Mike's life. What if he jumped on the opportunity to frame him and get rid of Lissa at the same time? Two birds, one exploding car."

"It's possible, but it leaves a lot to chance, which he's never done before." His mind reeling from the possibilities, Gil sighed, "We'll know more once Rodgers makes his next move."

**Sheriff's Office **

**12:38 pm **

"I don't know where my client is," Schultz informed the Sheriff once they were alone in his office, "he won't tell. What I do know is that Mike believes** he** was the intended target, not his wife. Consequently, he believes his life is in danger and he will not be showing his face until his wife's killer is caught."

"Your client is a person of interest in a murder investigation."

"And I will advise him of that information if I hear from him again."

The Sheriff locked eyes with the attorney he loathed. "I'm tired of this bullshit, Schultz."

"Would it be better if I took my file of juicy information on you and your precious CSIs to the press?"

"No," Burdick snarled, "it would be better if your client had been the one starting his car this morning."

"And you wonder why Mike doesn't feel safe showing up for work? When the Sheriff is wishing you were dead, who can you trust?" Schultz laughed all the way to the door. "I'll be in touch."

**Drew and Marta's House**

**12:47 pm **

"Call me the second you land," Drew directed his mother while clutching Cassie to his chest.

"I don't want to leave, Daddy."

"Cass, come on, you'll have a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, and all your cousins will be around to play with." He stroked his daughter's hair. "Grandma needs lots of help makin' Christmas Cookies and Grandpa needs your advice on decoratin' the house for the holidays."

"Why can't you come too?" she sniffled.

"Marta and I will be there as soon as I wrap up my BPAC stuff."

"Are you sure there's nothin' wrong, Daddy?" His body felt stiff like a wall and his voice wasn't right. "I think you're sendin' me away so the judge can't make me live with mommy and the mean man."

Snuggling her other granddaughter, Jillian nodded at her son. "Tell her she's right, Andrew."

"You're a smart girl, Cassie." Drew strengthened his grip. "Yeah, just in case things don't go okay with the judge tomorrow, I don't want you kids in town. If you're not here, they can't take you to live there, right?"

"Right," the scared child cried.

"If that happens tomorrow, I'll ask for a new judge to look at our case and make things right." Wiping her tears, he said, "I don't think it will come to any of that, but you know your Daddy, he doesn't like to leave much to chance."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Sugar. We're all gonna be okay by Christmas. I believe that, do you?" When she shook her head, his eyes welled, "You have to try, okay?"

"Okay." When she saw her grandfather return from taking the luggage to the door with her brother, Cassie pleaded, "Grandpa…you're the judge of Texas, can't you call the judge of Vegas and tell him that all I want for Christmas is to live with my Daddy and Nanny Marta?"

Judge Stokes, patted the girl's back. "If it was that easy, Sugar, it would already be done." He opened his arms. "Come along now."

Cassie reluctantly let her father transfer her to Grandpa Stokes's arms. "What about the President? Doncha know him? My daddy said you've been to his parties, even to the big white house once."

"George Bush can't help you either, Sugar," Jillian patted her granddaughter's back, "but don't take it personally, he's not been much of a help to anyone."

"Really, Jilly…" Bill glared at his wife, "there's a time and place for political snark."

"I was just tryin' to lighten the mood and keep myself from cryin'."

"Let's go! Let's go!" Matt jumped up and down. "I wanna go on a big airplane." He made wings and flew around the room.

Worried they only had ten minutes to get to the police station, Marta raced into the room with three travel backpacks for the kids. "Snacks, drinks, activities for the plane, extra clothes." She handed them to her future father-in-law. "Cassie's ears don't pop sometimes, so she has drops, they're in the front pocket of the pink pack."

"You're a terrific mother to my kids, Darlin'." Drew grabbed his fiancée's hand. "We have to go."

**Becca's Ferrari **

**12:58 pm **

"I have to go," Becca pointed to her bladder.

"We're almost there," Mike replied, checking his watch.

"We're not at the border yet." _Too bad they don't require passports for US citizens to cross, then we'd be stuck._

"No, we're almost at the drop spot." Mike calmly explained the plan to his hostage, "Even though I screwed with the lojack on your Ferrari, it's only a matter of time before your husband gets LE looking for you and let's face it, a candy apple red Ferrari is a tad conspicuous."

"You didn't tell me I'd lose my car," she whined, "I bought it as a wedding surprise for Tony."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, it will be in a barn under a tarp the whole time. After everything blows over, I'll give you directions to retrieve it."

"How exactly is kidnapping me going to 'blow over'?"

Mike laughed at the loon, "Because you're not going to press charges. You're going to say that you understood how scared I was after Lissa's untimely demise, and that you agreed to let me drive your car, which you did by the way."

"Not to Mexico! And not without telling Tony that I'm okay."

"You'll be making an untraceable call as soon as we stop, so your husband will find out that you're very happy hanging out with me."

"And what if I don't want to lie to my husband?"

"I think you will," he answered, in a voice that clearly stated she wouldn't have a choice. "I'm very good at motivating women to do my bidding, just ask my wife, oh wait, you can't," he sighed, "she's dead, just like the other two before her."

"I'll cooperate, that's not the problem. I just can't imagine what I'll say to get Tony to back off."

**LVPD **

**1:11 pm **

"My wife would never run off with Mike Rodgers!" Tony told his captain, "I don't care what any witnesses say it looked like. She didn't go with him without him threatening her or the babies. You just have to trust me. I need your help to get California, Arizona and Utah state police on the lookout for her Ferrari. "

"Tony..." Captain Pilson, shut his office door. "Take a breath and try to look at this situation as an outsider. As much as this pains me to say it to you, it needs to be said." Leaning against the edge of his desk, he quietly shared, "Everyone knows Amy slept with Rodgers while she was married to you. Now your second wife was seen meeting with Rodgers and laughing with him before tossing him the keys to her Ferrari. What would Detective Vartann say if this was a case, and not his personal life? You know it looks like Rodgers has a thing for your wives, and Becca, like Amy, is happy to oblige him."

"Becca's not Amy," Tony replied after swallowing his pride. "Amy hooked up with Rodgers for sex, but Becca went to see Rodgers for a much different reason. She thinks…" Fearing for his wife and unborn children, he choked up, "She believes she has a psychic gift and she may be right. I lied about why I went to Steve Ogden's building. I said I went to check on puppies for sale, and I did, but that was a ruse. I went there because Becca shook hands with Ogden at Carrie Blake's birthday party and when she did, she had a vision of him that scared the hell out of her. I went to Ogden's apartment to prove her wrong, but she was right about him." Covering his face, he finished, "She wanted to get close to Rodgers to read him. She was worried he was plotting something that would hurt her friends. I forbid her to see him, so today…she must have decided to go behind my back." Composing himself, he lowered his hands. "She was excited to be with him, because she truly believed she was helping her friends, I know that's the reason. She's pregnant with our twins, sir. She didn't drive off to have an affair, but now she has to be terrified."

Just as Pilson was about to concede to the inter-state APB request, Val, Nick Stokes's secretary, knocked on his glass door and mouthed the word 'urgent'. "Come in." He motioned for her to enter.

"Sorry to interrupt," Val somberly glanced at the shaken detective. "Your wife called for Nick. When he didn't answer, she opted to leave a voice message. I routinely pick up his work messages, so I heard it. Normally I wouldn't pry, but considering the buzz surrounding Mike Rodgers…"

"What did Becca say?!" Tony's heart pounded in his chest. "Tell me!"

"I can play it from here actually." Val pointed to the Captain's desk phone. "You can hear her voice."

"Go ahead." Pilson turned his phone for easier access.

"Okay." Val anxiously punched in the right numbers. "Here we go."

_Nicky, it's your buddy Becks. I don't have to tell you how possessive Tony is, welllllll I have a little problem. I'm on a little adventure away from home and I didn't exactly get his permission. It's all for a good cause, I assure you, and there's no hanky panky going on," she snickered, "because you know I'm saving my infidelity for you, cowboy. Mmmm ever since that first time we met in Hoj's living room in San Marino and you yelled at me for ruining your buddy by bringing over coke and devil dogs. Mmmm…I still dream about being Molly Ringwald to your Judd Nelson. I didn't give in before I got knocked up, but now it's all I think about. One day, after the bambinos are born and I get my heavenly figure back, we're going to scratch that itch, pardner, but in order for that to happen, you have to keep my husband from killing me right now. Tell him Madame Becks is trying to get a read off of Rodgers and she's not coming home until she does. Tell him I'm perfectly safe, that Mike's not keeping me against my will or hurting me in any way. I'm doing this for us, all of us, because the brat pack has to stick together, just like in my favorite movie, St. Elmo's Fire. Even though I know you have to ignore me in the hallway on Monday morning, I'll know what you're thinking…I'm crazy about you too. _

"Thank you, Val," Pilson escorted her to the door. Once he was alone with his employee again, he sobered, "I'm very sorry, Tony. Hearing that message, I remember Becca dancing with Stokes at the LVPD Formal. I remember thinking they looked very chummy…**too** chummy."

"No, no! Something isn't right." Tony rushed for the door. "I'm gonna track down Stokes!"

**LVPD – Interrogation Room A**

**1:20 pm **

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Stokes and Ms. Mueller." Vega hustled into the room extending his hand to the unknown gentleman.

"I'm Russ Stanton, attorney for Mr. Stokes and Ms. Mueller." He shook the detective's hand. "My clients returned as requested, and they have airtight alibis."

"Good for them." Vega took a seat, anxious to eliminate two people from his list. "Let's start with you, Stokes. When was the last time you conversed with Lissa?"

**Mike's New SUV **

**1:41 pm **

"I should have married you instead of Lissa," Mike sweetly told his freaked out passenger. "Aww, come on…you're not** still** mad at me for holding a gun to your head and threatening to blow your brains out unless you made Tony believe you wanted to sleep with his friend and go on an adventure with me, are you? Jeez, you really know how to hold a grudge."

"It was less than an hour ago!"

"I knew you couldn't keep your mouth shut for long." Patting her knee, Mike soothed, "It was all an act, sweetheart. Like any good director, I was trying to get an authentic performance out of my actress. I'm not a baby killer. If I kill you, I kill two unborn kids, and I'm just not that type of guy."

"He's going to think I want to sleep with Nick." Tears sliding down her cheeks, Becca cried, "Oh my God…Tony's going to have a heart attack when he hears that message."

"Nah, he's got a great ticker. He'll keep his cool"

**LVPD – Val's Desk **

**1:53 pm **

"He should be back any minute, Detective," Val assured the man who looked ready to explode. "He…"

"Stokes!" Tony blasted when he saw his co-worker coming down the hall. "**Right now**!"

Stunned by his buddy's tone, Nick hurried down the hall. "What's wrong? What else is wrong is more like it I guess."

Tony couldn't wait to clear things up. "Becca was seen leaving with Rodgers earlier today and they're both MIA. They took off in the Ferrari."

"No." Nick clutched his chest.

"Schultz has already been to see Burdick," Tony filled in his friend, still believing the message couldn't be true. "He didn't mention Becca, but he said that Mike refuses to show his face in town, because he believes Lissa was not the intended target this morning. He believes someone is out to kill him."

"He's usin' Becca as collateral?"

"That's what I thought, but then this message came through. I know it can't be what it seems." Tony's eyes narrowed to angry slits. "For your sake, Stokes, it better not be what it seems."

"Uh…" Nick's gaze moved between Vartann's intense eyes and Val's nervous ones. "Are ya gonna play the…"

"Play it for him, Val!" Tony directed, counting the seconds until Nick would give him an innocent explanation.

The secretary handed over her headset, so the message wouldn't be overheard by passersby.

"Thanks." His anxiety already off the charts, Nick listened to Becca's words with trepidation. "Oh shit." His pulse notched.

"Don't tell me you really want to bed my wife, Stokes." Tony was so shaken by the look on Nick's face, he didn't know what to believe or expect.

"She's not okay!" Nick snapped after ripping off the headset. "The stuff she was sayin'…it was all slightly off. It wasn't St. Elmo's Fire, it was The Breakfast Club. I'm not Judd Nelson, I'm Emilio Estevez. It was pot and ring dings, not coke and devil dogs! She **knew** I'd remember." He gulped, "We weren't plannin' a get together in the future, Tony, we said we would have been hot for each other in high school. Don't you get it?! She probably saw the trick in a movie, you know…when a hostage gets to make a phone call to someone to say they're okay. She's not okay. She's in trouble, big trouble."

"Oh no!" Val panicked, but not for the reason the men believed. "That's terrible! Mrs. Vartann is such a nice woman! She does so much charity work and…" Pushing out crocodile tears, she grabbed her purse. "I think I'm going to be sick. I need to…"

"Go, it's okay," Nick shooed her away. "We have to get Archie on that message, ASAP." Rushing down the hall with Tony at his side, he said, "Wait…you gotta have lojack on the Ferrari."

"He fucked with it," Tony snapped as his fear skyrocketed. "It all makes sense now. I told Pilson! I told him!"

"Stay calm, man."

"Would** you** be calm if Carrie was being held by that maniac?!"

"No." Nick flew into Audio Lab. "Listen up! We have a new priority. A phone message from Mrs. Vartann."

**Mike's SUV **

**Ensenada, Mexico **

**3:07 pm **

"Talk to me, Schultzy," Mike answered his cell, "what did the Sheriff say?"

"We have a problem."

"Not what I wanted to hear."

"You're not on speaker by any chance, are you?"

"Nope." Mike glanced over at Becca, who had her face buried in the Vogue magazine she had found in the car. "You have my undivided attention."

"Mrs. Vartann isn't as stupid as you swore she was, or she watched the right movie."

Gripping the phone tight, Mike snipped, "Get to the point."

"She was speaking just off from the truth to give Stokes a clue that she wasn't okay. He flipped out when he heard it and rushed off to have the message analyzed."

"The analysis was a given, and we took precautions to make sure they wouldn't get anything helpful, but the other part…" He glanced over at Becca. "I'm not happy about that, not happy at all."

Schultz nervously asked, "Is it the end of the road?"

"Yes," Mike replied while taking a u-turn for the local airport.

* * *

**ANs: **

Any guesses on where Mike is headed?

Did you remember that Val is a Mike spy?

Becca's phone message refers to a scene in Book 2, Chapter 37 when Nick and Becca first met

Becca and Nick did dance very closely at the LVPD Formal and discuss being innocent 'flirt buddies'.

I hope you're enjoying the ride! More twists and turns on the way…

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter! I've replied :-)

KJT as always…you rock!

**Thanks for reading!**

**Maggs **

_Off to watch tonight's CSI episode…_


	14. Chapter 14

**Laws of Motion – Book 4**

**Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT**

**Chapter 14**

**Tuesday, December 14, 2005**

**Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa – Atlantic City, NJ**

**Ken Blake's Room **

**6:12 pm (EST) **

"I've been waiting for your call for hours," Ken snapped when he answered his cell phone. "What's the status?"

"I delivered the package, but his wife opened it."

"What?!" Ken stopped pacing the room. "How is that possible when you were supposed to have a visual before making the delivery?"

"I'm sorry, I was unexpectedly cut short on time during the delivery and from everything I had seen prior to…the wife never…I'm sorry."

"God dammit, Carlos!" Ken screamed into the phone, "We don't work like this!"

"I know, I know, and in ten years, I've **never **been sloppy, it seemed like such a sure thing. One chance in a billion that she'd…"

"Shut up and let me think for a minute."

"You need to know there's one more problem…your daughter decided to go to work instead of Mexico."

**Carrie Blake's Office**

**4:19 pm **

"Carrie…" The DA rapped on the open door. "I need to talk to you."

"I was actually just packing up for the day," Carrie replied while powering down her laptop. "As you can imagine, the Stokes family…"

"Internal Affairs is in my office," he cut in, "they'd like to speak with you."

Exhausted from the day's events, she dropped into her chair. "Nick didn't blow up that car."

"I know he didn't, but we know how this works. They want to know who did."

**LVPD – Crime Lab **

**Gil's Office **

**4:25 pm **

"Grissom," the Master Criminalist gruffly answered his cell.

"It's Jim."

"I'm just packing up," Gil snapped, annoyed that he, Sara and Nick had all been placed on paid suspension per IAB.

"You know how I'm not supposed to tell you anything?"

"Yeah?"

"Pretend I'm not telling you this," Jim said, before sharing, "Guess what was just found in the trunk of Lissa's car at the brake repair shop?"

"Mike's dead body?" Gil replied, praying his friend would say yes.

"Wouldn't that be fun? No, the mechanic found car bomb supplies and Internet how-to guides to making car bombs. He called the police and the word is…all evidence points to Lissa Rodgers being the bomber."

"That's…" Gil dropped into his chair.

"Interesting isn't it?"

"The woman was stupid, but…" Gil paused, "sorry, no disrespect to the deceased, what I mean is, she was stupid, but **not **stupid enough to wire her husband's car and then forget and blow herself up."

"The plot thickens though…Mike Rodgers took out an insurance policy on Lissa, but because of his history of dead wives, the insurance company put a two-year waiting period clause that he acknowledged and signed."

"So he's not going to collect a dime from her death?"

"Nope, but Mrs. Rodgers was able to insure her husband for two million dollars and no waiting period."

Gil rubbed his temples and recapped, "So it looks like Lissa had motive, opportunity and the tools to explode the car."

"Exactly, but instead of her husband starting the engine, she did. So, she was either incredibly stupid, desperately suicidal, or…"

"She was being framed for her husband's death and didn't know it."

"My money's on that one," Brass confirmed. "What if Mike was going to fake his own death and didn't expect the wife to use his SUV that day?"

"But she had a key, Jim. That's a pretty big risk and we know that Mike likes to be in control."

**Ensenada, Mexico **

**5:41 pm **

"Okay, we're all set, Becks." Mike handed over a ticket. "You're taking a bus to San Diego and your car will be waiting for you at the terminal. The keys will be locked inside, but you said you have a spare in your wallet, so…"

"A bus?!" The millionaire shrieked, "I've never been on a public bus in my life." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "And not to sound like a snob, but…some of these people look very dirty."

"Then find your own way back to San Diego, bitch, but I'm done babysitting you."

"Babysitting?! You** kidnapped **me!"

"Uh, no I didn't." Mike reminded her, "You sought me out at a crime scene, then we went for a joy ride. During the joy ride I found out there had been an attempt on my life and I panicked. I drove toward the border, but you didn't want to take your Ferrari into Mexico, so we switched to an SUV. Soon after that, you got on my nerves, and I said thanks for the good time, but I'm going to hide out on my own until my wife's killer is brought to justice and it's safe for me to return to Vegas. I said adios, and was nice enough to buy you a bus ticket to San Diego."

"That's not going to be my story," Becca snipped while snatching the bus ticket.

"Yeah, but you're nuts and no one takes you seriously." Mike shooed her off. "Buh bye."

As her captor drove off, Becca reached into her wallet for a hundred dollar bill. "Hola," she greeted a woman holding a baby. After flashing a warm smile she asked in Spanish, "I'll give you one hundred American dollars to use your phone."

**LVPD **

**5:59 pm **

Sitting at his desk waiting for a call back from his father, Tony continued run all of Becca and Mike's credit cards, hoping to see activity while knowing he wouldn't.

"Tony!" Vega shouted from his desk. "I just hung up with my cousin, he works border patrol at the Tijuana checkpoint. His boss is unofficially faxing Becca's photo to all checkpoints."

"I owe you…" Tony held up his index finger and flipped open his phone. "Vartann."

"Tony!"

"Becca?!" He jumped from his seat, sending his desk chair crashing to the floor.

"I love you! I love you! I love you! Are you mad at me?! I don't want to sleep with Nick, Mike made me say something to…"

"Honey!" Tony's heart pounded in his chest. "Where are you? Are you okay? Is Rodgers with you?"

"I'm in a filthy smelly bus terminal in Ensenada! I paid a woman a hundred bucks to use her cell phone, because Mike snatched the battery out of mine."

"Did he hurt you, Becks?" With Vega at his side, Tony frantically rattled off questions, "Where is Rodgers? Did you sneak away to make this call or…"

"No, he dropped me off here."

"So, you're safe." His knees weak, Vartann sat on the edge of his desk.

"No, I'm not safe! I'm in a bus terminal in Ensenada!" Becca shrieked. "Men are leering at me and robbers are eyeing up my diamonds! I can't believe Mike left me here!"

"Ensenada?" Vega confirmed while grabbing his cell phone. "Tell her not to leave the building. My cousin is less than an hour away, I'll get him to her."

"Stay put, honey," Tony instructed, near tears. "A cousin of a guy I work with is gonna come for you and take you across the border. He works border patrol. Promise me you won't get on a bus or leave the building."

"I promise," Becca cried, the trauma catching up with her.

"Good, okay." Tony breathed deep. "Now…tell me everything you remember about Rodgers. What he was wearing and driving, what direction did he go in, and did he give any indication of where he was going? Because we need to find him, Becca. He's a murder suspect."

* * *

**ANs: **

I know this was an extraordinarily short chapter, but I needed to get to a breaking point and felt this was a good one. Ken ordered the hit and Becca is safe. The story will pick up from there, but I need to wait until after the season finale of CSI. I've been significantly changing the story toward a different direction for reasons I won't say, but it's proven very hard to do that in a WIP format.

On top of that, many people (even close friends) have told me that they've stopped reading angsty fic until they know the outcome of this season's drama. Many others have told me they refuse to read the story until the Mike part is done (they've said they'll wait for me to finish all the drama and then catch up). I suspected that was the case because comments have dwindled and hits to the chapters have fallen off dramatically.

I don't blame anyone for this move, I feel the same way right now…I want to tell a happier story. I'm enjoying writing Where You Are for that reason. And I have to believe it's true when I'm getting more happy/positive comments for a chapter of Where in 1 hour than for the last 3 chapters of LoM combined. That's a sign of where people are focused right now.

So, knowing all that, I think it's smart for me to pull the story together, wait until the CSI season stress is over, and then post the revised LoM story in quick succession. I hope those who are still reading and have been dedicated in supporting the story, understand this move and will read it when it's done. I know this is the right decision. I don't want to rush or ruin the end of a story I've been building for so long just because I feel pressured to end the drama and write happiness.

**Thanks so much,  
****Maggs **


End file.
